The Story of Amber Brown
by xMiaCarax
Summary: Pre-Story to The Story of Ruby Brown. Amber Brown, a fourteen year-old outsider, goes to Volterra, Italy in the summer holidays with her best friend and elementary school acquaintance, Phoebe Evans. When one morning Phoebe is found dead in the forest, one thing leads to another and Amber finds herself in a castle full of vampires. (Aro/OC)
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Call

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: This is the corrected version of my story 'The Story of Amber Brown'. I hope you like it! If you do, please leave a review, but keep in mind that this is my first fanfiction, so don't be too hard on me.  
If you want to keep updated on the progress I make on the story, I suggest you take a look at my official website. You'll find a link on my profile.**

**For eternaldance22 and Wersa12345 for being there for me back on my first draft. I hope I can continue to count on you and your great reviews! ;D**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Call

_by xMiaCarax_

**RUBY POV**

"Mommy, when is she going to be here?" I asked.

It was the 25th of July 2006 and it was hot. Too hot. Really, it was one of those days that were better spent inside. So naturally, it was the day that my lovely bigger sister came home from boarding school for the summer holidays and we had to wait for her outside.  
Although it wasn't even the heat that put me on edge. I had been awake for two hours now, and everything Mommy and Daddy were talking about was Amber. Amber this, Amber that. She hadn't even entered the house, and she was already stealing my attention.  
Don't get me wrong, I loved Amber. But when she came home from boarding school for the winter or summer holidays, it was almost like I didnt exist.

"Every minute now, cupcake." Mommy told me. I sighed.

"You said that ten minutes ago, too!" I said. "I'm melting!"

Daddy rolled his eyes. "Come on Ruby. Just a few more minutes. You're not made of sugar."

"And what exactly makes you so sure about that?"

"No discussion, sweetheart." Mommy intervened, "You're staying outside and that's it."

A few minutes and a long, awkward silence later, I was pulled from my thoughts by Mommy's excited scream. "Harald! There she comes! Look!" she said and pointed at a black cab that was driving towards us. As if on cue, it stopped the second Mommy had completed her sentence and the glossy black door opened.

"Here we go" I whispered quietly enough for none of them to hear.

**AMBER POV**

As I made my way out of the cab, I saw them.  
My family.  
Dad, as usual, with no hair, a pair of glasses with round glasses on and in a light blue shirt with a black tie. Mom, with her short brown hair that had now some grey highlights, and with her laughter lines. And Ruby, my six year-old sister, in a pink princess dress, her short brown hair barely reaching her shoulders, with a big smile on her rosy face. All of them were smiling and waving at me, and immediately, I felt right at home.  
I hurriedly got my suitcase from the back of the cab, paid the driver and ran towards my mother, embracing her.

"Oh, Amber, it's so good to have you back!" she exlaimed. "How was your journey?"

"Fine, thank you." I told her. "And it's good to have you back, too."

"Yeah, it's nice to see you, too. Now let's get down to business. Your report card, young lady." Dad ordered. I grinned. This was so _typically_ him - straight to the point, not a friend of formalities. I quickly grabbed into my purse and gave it to him.

"Not bad, not bad" he commented as he went over it. "But how come you have a C in Latin?"

"Harald!" Mom scolded. "She's not even inside yet!"

I chuckled. Oh, how I had missed them.

"Can we go inside now?" Ruby asked. "I'm melting and _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ is on TV."

"Sure!" I agreed. "It is quite hot today."

We made our way into my family's thirties style brown house in silence. I never really wanted to refer to it as my house; after all, I spent fourty-four weeks a year at boarding school. Once inside, Mom led me straight to the kitchen.

"Surely you're hungry." She said. "How about some pizza? We ordered some yesterday, and we still have some left-overs."

I shook my head. "No thanks, Mom. And if you don't mind, I'd like to go to my room and take a nap now. I'm quite tired."

"Of course." She agreed. "But be back by seven. There's fish and chips for dinner."

"I wouldn't miss it." I told her and made my way up the staircase. Just like seven months ago, my room was the first to the left. I opened the door and entered, eyeing my room which looked just as gruesome as it had the last time I had been here.  
Back when I was ten, Mom had given me some money to redecorate my room. Let me just say that a lot has changed since then, regarding furniture taste. The walls were painted in a particularly irritating shade of lime green, the desk a bright yellow. The rest of the furniture was white, except for my bed, which was my grandmother's old art nouveau bed and the only part of my room I actually liked. The wall above my bed was literally plastered with old posters of pop stars, cute animals and fotos of me and my friend. I had complained about it a lot of times to my parents, but they said that because I was only here six weeks a year, it would be a waste of money to redecorate my room. Theoretically, I agreed with them. But practically, I often slept in a tent in the garden when it wasn't too cold because I couldn't sleep with the irritating color on the walls.

I sighed and let myself fall onto the bed, staring up at a foto of me and Phoebe in fourth grade. I took a deep breath and realized that a lot had changed since I was ten, not only regarding furniture taste.  
I may not have been popular in fourth grade, but at least I had had a friend: Pheebs. She had moved to Kingsbridge at the start of the school year and I had immediately liked her. Like me, she had had an obsession over Harry Potter books, and every weekend, we would have a sleepover at our house and dress up like Hermione and Ron.  
Then, fifth grade came along and my parents dragged me to boarding school. I was unhappy there. Nobody understood my obsession over fictional characters, all the girls only cared about their clothes and the boys. I was an outsider.  
An outsider that called her elementary school aquaintance Phoebe every day at five and talked to her for an hour or more. Even after all these years, we never lacked things to talk about. We were truly soul mates of a sort.

I had just closed my eyes to sleep when I heard a familiar song play at the other end of the room.

_I'm sick and tired of being afraid  
If I cry any more then my tears will wash me away  
But when I hear you call my name  
I whisper the word that I never thought I'd ever say_

I recognized it as my ringtone and I hurried towards my desk, where I had dropped my purse. I pulled my phone out and stared at the display of Dad's old Nokia. It was Phoebe. I accepted the call and sat down on the yellow rug on the floor.

"Hey Phoebe. What's up?"

"You in Kingsbridge yet, Amber?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just arrived a few minutes ago." I answered, "What's up?"

"I have great news. Like, the _great-is-an-understatement_ kind of news."

"Well, go ahead then."

She took a deep breath. "Remember that history competition for british students I took part off?"

"You won!" I realized. "Oh my gosh, Pheebs, that's awesome!"

"That's not even the most awesome part. You know what I won?"

"No idea." I told her.

"Well, guess what? It's a two-week journey to Italy for two students with a tour guide, all expenses paid!" She literally screamed the last part in excitement. "So?"

"So what?" I asked.

"So are you going with me to Italy?!"

"You're taking _me_?!"

"Well, of course I'm taking _you_. You're my soul mate." She explained.

"I... I don't know, Pheebs. I'll have to ask my parents. When is it?"

"I'd pick you up tomorrow in the morning."

"Don't hang up. I'll be back in a sec." I told her and ran out of my room and down the staircase. In a matter of seconds, I had reached the living room, where my entire family was watching _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_.

"Amber?" Mom turned around. "I thought you were sleeping...?"

"Mom, Dad, listen to me." I started. "Pheebs just called and told me that she won the first prize of some history competition and now she gets to go on a trip for two students to Italy with a tour guide for two weeks, all expenses paid. Can I go?! Please!"

Mom just stared at me, dumbstruck. "_Who the heck is Pheebs_?"

I rolled my eyes. "Phoebe Evans. Remember? The girl that was my friend in fourth grade?"

"Oh!" she said. "That Phoebe. You guys still have contact?"

I nodded. "I call her every day when I'm at boarding school."

"...so that's why the phone bill is always so expensive." Dad chimed in. I ignored him.

"The plane goes tomorrow morning. Phoebe would pick me up. Can I go?"

Mom and Dad exchanged meaningful glances. "Please!" I begged. "It's the chance of a lifetime! Who knows if I'll ever go to Italy again?! And it's 100% free!" They still seemed unsure. I sighed. "I'll call home every day so you know I'm fine." Still, they didn't look convinced. "Alright, I'll even join the school Lacrosse team when I go back to school."

"Will you be quiet?" Ruby interrupted. "_Esmeralda is dancing!_"

"Fine" Mom agreed. "If you promise to bring us some nice souvenirs."

I nodded. "Absolutely. Thank you! Thanks so much! You are the best parents ever! I-"

"NO!" Ruby yelled and we all turned to face her. There were tears streaming down her face. "You just came! I only have you for eight weeks a year, you are not going to go for another two weeks!"

"Ruby, _princess_..." I began.

"Don't call me princess!" she screamed at me. "I'm not talking to you until you say you are not going."

"Ruby, come on. Stop being so childish-" she turned back to the TV, where Esmeralda was still dancing. "...This is the chance of a lifetime! You surely understand that I can't stay here!" But she only turned up the volume and didn't even look at me.

"Fine!" I yelled back at her, suddenly angry. "When you stop being so selfish one day, you'll surely understand that it'd be stupid to stay here. I am going to Italy wether you like it or not, and that's the end of it." With that, I ran up the stairs, not looking back. Once I had reached my room, I sat down on my bed and picked up my cell. I had some good news to tell Pheebs.

**PHOEBE POV**

It was 7:41 AM when Dad stopped the car infront of Amber's house. It still looked the way it had four years ago - three stories, brown brick walls, white window frames, small front garden with roses, thirties style. I opened the door of the car, stepped out onto the driveway and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Amber herself opened. I took myself a few seconds to take a close look at the girl I had shared my entire life with, but not seen in four years. Amber did the same.  
She had long, brown hair that was slightly curled and bright emerald irises. Amber wore a yellow tanktop, a pair of regular jeans and black chucks. She looked great. I was delighted to see that the Amber I had known in fourth grade had finally developed a sense for fashion and what kind of clothes suited her.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" I asked and she blushed and led me inside. "Is your room still the first one on the left upstairs?" She nodded. "Let's get your suitcase then."

We hurried up the staircase and she opened the door to her room, leading me in. I giggled when I saw that it, too, looked exactly as terrible as four years ago.

"Four years really is quite a short time." I commented.

"It sure is" she said and pointed at a big, pink suitcase. "There it is."

I nodded and walked towards it. "Where is your family, anyways?"

She sighed. "Mom and Dad are having breakfast, and Ruby is still sleeping. She refuses to see me off because I'm never here and now I'm leaving again."

"That's totally selfish!" I noted. "I mean, this is the chance of a lifetime!"

"I know, I know, but she wouldn't listen to me."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's bring that suitcase down to Dad's car, then." Amber took her suitcase, and I took her purse. We quickly put her items into the back of the black BMW x3 and made a little small talk.

"I need to tell my parents I'm leaving." She said. I merely nodded. "I'll just wait here, then."

"No, come with me. Otherwise they may think I just made you up." She explained.

"Fair argument" I said and followed her inside, where Mr and Ms Brown were sitting around a big, mahogany dining table.

"Mom? Dad?" Amber said and they turned around.

"So you must be Phoebe." Her dad said. "You better have not made this up."

"Harald!" Ms Brown scolded. "It's nice to see you again, Phoebe."

"It's my pleasure." I replied politely.

"We need to go" Amber informed them. "Our flight is going in two hours and we still need to get to the airport."

"Of course" Ms Brown agreed. She instantly stood up and gave her daughter an embrace. "Take good care of yourself, young lady, you hear me?" She told her. "And remember your promise. Daily phone calls and souvenirs." She rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"Bye, Dad." She said.

"Enjoy yourself." He said and turned back to his copy of the Financial Times. _What an awesome father_, I thought sarcastically.

"Let's go, then." I informed everybody, turning to Amber. She nodded. "Tell Ruby I love her, and that I'm not sorry."

"We will!" Ms Brown assured her. "Have a nice time!"

Amber waved her goodbye and we left the house and sat ourselves onto the back seats of Dad's car.

"To the airport, please." I told Dad. As he pulled away from the Brown's driveway, I watched as Amber took a last look at her family's house, not knowing it would be the last time she would ever see it.

**Okay, hope you liked it. If you did, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW, it always makes me update way quicker.  
The first person that can tell me in what other book the main character comes from Kingsbridge, UK gets a dedication. All reviewers get a dedication, too.  
Also, what do you think of the cover picture? Made it myself... anyway, just tell me what you think and have a nice day. ;D**

**Btw, her ringtone is "Help" by Hurts. There are lyrics on my website.**

**PS: There are pictures of the characters and Amber's house on my profile.**


	2. Chapter 2: Volterra

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Again, Twilight belongs to Ms Meyer, I only own the characters Amber Brown, Phoebe Evans and Cora (enters the story around Chapter 13).**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 2 - Volterra

_by xMiaCarax_

**AMBER POV**

By the time we arrived at the airport in Exeter, it was 8:47 AM and we had one hour and thirteen minutes left before our plane took off. After Pheebs had said goodbye to her Dad, we got through security fairly quickly. There were obviously not many people that flew from Exeter to Pisa at 10:00 AM in the morning.  
We were left with a total of thirty-two minutes before boarding to spend at the gate and decided to take a look at the shops. After all, my Mom wanted me to bring back souvenirs, and who knew if we were going to have the time in...

_Where exactly were we going, anyways?_

"Pheebs, what is the name of the town we're going to again?"

"No idea." She shook her head. "All I know is that a tour guide will be waiting for us at the airport of Pisa and she'll take us to wherever we're supposed to be."

I sighed. "Do you even have a plan of what cities we're going to visit when?"

"All I was told was that I won the competition and that the journey was the first prize. They gave me the plane tickets and the information that a tour guide would be waiting for us."

I had a really bad feeling about this. Who assured me that this thing wasn't a fake and we were heading straight for disaster? _What if there would be no tour guide? _  
Eventhough, really, worrying Pheebs would get me nowhere. I knew that theoretically, we could turn back and go home. But practically, I knew Phoebe too well. No matter what I told her, she wouldn't want to hear it. So maybe I should just save my breath. _Maybe_ it was not a rip-off, after all.

"Let's go to that Duty Free shop over there." I suggested, changing the topic.

We landed at the airport of Pisa at exactly 2:34 PM. Pheebs and I quickly hurried to baggage claim - Pheebs's mother had once lost her suitcase because she hadn't arrived in time, and now Phoebe was worried the same thing would happen to us. Naturally, when we arrived, the suitcases were not even there yet. I took my opportunity and called my mother to tell her the plane hadn't crashed.

"Hey Mom. We've just arrived in Pisa."

"That's great, cherry. What city are you going to go to?"

"I... I forgot the name. Look, I gotta go. I'll call you in the evening," I lied, not wanting her to find out I was missing some essential details.

"Okay. Have a nice time, Amber." She said and hung up. I sighed. _Let's just hope there is a tour guide._

"Look! Am! Our suitcases!" Pheebs cried out excitedly and all other tourists, which had been waiting in silence, turned around. I blushed in embarassment, but Pheebs didn't seem to mind, or even notice, in that matter.  
We found our bags in a matter of seconds and walked out into the public part of the airport, where, to my never ending surprise -and relief-, a twenty-something brown haired, fox faced Italian girl with a backpack was waiting with a sign reading _Evans + Brown _in her hands_. _She saw us immediately, and (us being the only teenage girls that were on the flight) waved her hands greetingly at us.

"I am your tour guide. My name is Lucrezia, but you can call me Luzi. You must be Ms Evans and Ms Brown?" We nodded.

"But you can call us Amber and Phoebe." Pheebs said.

"My pleasure." She answered politely. "Now let us go; we need to check into the hotel."

"What city are we staying at?" I asked anxiously.

Her answer came immediately. "_Volterra_."

As I sat in the back of the old, white VW bus Luzi owned, I stared out of my window in awe and was shocked by the beauty of my surroundings. Everywhere I looked, there was either stunning landscape to admire or some toscan city. But my jaw literally dropped when I saw Volterra.

It was, basically, a breathtakingly beautiful Italian village surrounded only by the idyllic landscape. I was stunned. I had expected a bigger, maybe more historically relevant city than this, but who was I to complain? This was like a paradise people had forgotten about over time.

We drove into the city and I noticed that all the buildings were very old. I tried to take in all the images, tried to take hold of them, so they would stay with me forever. It was awkward, but... I felt so at ease here, it was like I was at home.  
The car finally stopped infront of a sand colored, four-story brick house with the words _'Hotel Piazza'_ painted on it. Pheebs, who had played games on her phone the entire time, and I exited the car and looked around. The hotel fit perfectly into its surroundings; the Piazza it was on seemed to be city center. All the buildings looked very old, too and were made of brick. In the middle of the Piazza was a big fountain, and surrounding the fountain were a Café, a book store, a tourist office and a souvenir shop.

And then there was this enormous building on the right of our hotel.

Like the other buildings, it was made of bricks. It was approx. 20 meters high and had 5 stories. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't come up with a use for the building. It was too normal-looking to be a church and too pompous for a city hall. It was a mystery.

But a mystery that (at least now) was not of great importance. What was of importance, was that we checked in to the Hotel quickly.

"There is only somebody at the reception for two hours a day. As it is now 3:23 PM, we have exactly seven minutes to check into the hotel." Luzi informed us. So, without much further ado, we did. Fortunately, Pheebs and I got number 13 and Luzi got 16. Not only did we have our own room, but our tour guide's room was two stories above ours! It really would have been weird if she could see when we went to bed, after all.

"Considering this is the first day, there is no tour scheduled for today. You may take this day to take a walk around the city. I will not accompany you." Luzi said. "Here is a map and your plan for the next days. Use it if you need it. "

Feeling overjoyed, we took a look at our room. It had two queen-sized beds, a plasma TV and a small but romantic balcony that looked directly at the fountain in the city center.

"This is incredible!" Pheebs cried out.

"I know, right? These are going to be the best holidays ever!" I grinned.

"I'm so glad you're finally with me." She said. "Like, in person!"

"Can you just imagine us, meeting up in a café in Paris in twenty years with our husbands and kids, and the entire time we talk about how great it was in Volterra, 2006?"

I chuckled. "Our kids will hate us for that."

"It'll be worth it," she said, taking her polaroid camera from her bag. "Smile!" she directed. I did, wholeheartedly. I felt so relaxed here, now, with her. Seconds later, she gave the picture to me.

"Here" she said. "So you can show your kids one day."

**PHOEBE POV**

Am and I sat in this charming little café in the city center and studied our plan for the next two weeks. We were immensely impressed by all the historical sights in a radius of 100 kilometers from here - we would start with the sights of Volterra tomorrow; we were scheduled for a tour of the _Porta all'Arco_, some Roman temple or something, and the day after that a tour of Volturi Castle.

"What the heck is _Volturi Castle_?" I heard Amber ask as she read the programme. "I've never heard of it!"

"Me neither" I said. "And the only reason we're here is because I'm an expert of Roman history and culture. Wait, there's an address... _Piazza dei Priori 5_. Where is that?"

Amber took the map Luzi had given us from her bag and eyed it meticulously. Suddenly, I could see her eyes light up with excitement.

"Piazza dei Priori is here! Then Volturi Castle must be this giant thing over there!" She cried out, pointing to a gigantic building that was next to our hotel.

"I can't wait to view it" I said sarcastically. Seriously, just from the outside of the Castle I wanted to die of boredom. Shouldn't castles be pompous or something? Because this castle looked just like a big brick house, end of story, only that it had a small tower on top. But that was it.

"Give it a chance, Pheebs" Am replied. "Isn't it you that always tells me not to judge a book by its cover?"

"Maybe" I said dryly, making an effort to change the topic. "Hey, you see that bookstore over there? I'd love to see it."

**AMBER POV**

It was 6:39 PM and we had been to just about every store there was in Volterra. I had bought a poster of the Piazza dei Priori for Mom, knowing she loved Italian architecture, a leather notebook with the word '_Volterra_' on the cover for Dad and the most adorable thing for Ruby: an antiquarian doll with a long, pink dress and brown hair. She looked just like her. I even paid a few Euros extra and had '_Ruby Jasmyne Brown_' stitched on the inside of the dress. She would love it, I was sure of that.

"It would be stupid to give them their gifts when we come back, don't you think?" I asked Pheebs. "Is there a post office in this city? I think I'll just send it to them so they can habe them sooner."

"I think there is one over there" she noted and pointed to a small building labeled '_ufficio postale'_.

"Perfect! I'll just be a sec. You wanna come inside with me or wait, Pheebs?" I demanded.

"I'll just wait outside and take some pictures, I think."

I nodded. "Alright. See you soon."

While I had been busy packing the package for my family, Pheebs had used her opportunity to reserve a table at the fanciest restaurant in the city, which was, purely coincidentally, located directly next to the post office. We had visited the bookstore again, and now we were back on the Piazza dei Priori, heading back to the hotel to get changed.

"I have absolutely no idea what to wear. I'm sure there's a dresscode at the restaurant but I have absolutely nothing fancy with me!" Phoebe complained.

"I'm sure it's going to be just fine, Pheebs. I really don't think they are going to throw you out if you come in jeans and a t-shirt. After all, this is just a small restaurant in some italian village. So stop making a fuss about it!"

She rolled her eyes. "I know, _but what if_-"

"Care to join a free tour of Volturi Castle?" a -to say it bluntly- stunningly beautiful woman with long brunette curls and strange, brown purple-ish eyes interrupted Pheebs. She wore a short red halter dress and a pearl necklace, her legs were only covered by see-through black tights, her outfit not leaving much room for imagination. She was a vision; no matter how hard I tried, I just could not take my eyes off her.

"No thank you" Pheebs answered politely. "We're already scheduled for a tour the day after tomorrow."

She smiled. With a smile on her perfect face, she'd make a Botticelli angel look like a gargoyle in comparison. "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you there" she replied happily with a strong, italian accent. "By the way, I'm Heidi. What are your names?"

I exchanged a worried glance with Pheebs. Why did she want to know our names? What was going on?

"I'm Amber. This is my friend Phoebe" I said. "I'm afraid we need to get going. We've got something planned for this evening and-"

"Oh, of course." Heidi interrupted. "Have a wonderful rest of the evening then."

"Thanks a bunch" Pheebs added sarcastically in a quiet tone, so that Heidi could not hear, and then we were walking away from her as quickly as we could without her possibly thinking that we were making a run for it. After all, we'd see each other again in less than 48 hours, and one does not want to leave a bad impression.

**HOPE YOU LIKED IT! Please leave a review if you did, it always makes my day.**


	3. Chapter 3: A Beautiful Devil

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters! The characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot are mine.**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 3 - A Beautiful Devil

_by xMiaCarax_

**PHOEBE POV**

When I woke up, it was 4:57 AM and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't go back to sleep. But because it was so early in the morning, I had no idea what I could do without waking Amber up. After all, I was sure she would kill me ruthlessly if I was to wake her at this time. I decided to take a shower, it would buy me some time and wasn't loud enough to wake anyone up.

A gasp escaped my lips when I saw the bathroom. It was just beautiful. The floor and walls were done in yellow marble and there was a big whirlpool bathtub and and a shower that was big enough for three. I took off my pink Victoria's Secret PJ's and stepped into the shower. I let the water embrace me while I thought of the Porta all'Arco and all the other sights we would visit in the next days. I came out twenty minutes later, clean and smelling like lime and other citrus fruits. When I came back into the bedroom, Amber, as expected, was still sleeping. I should get dressed, I thought. I walked the way to my suitcase on my tip toes and looked through all my clothing, until I found my red running shoes.

_Should I go out for a quick jog?_

'Well, why not?' I told myself and put on my mint '_Born This Way Ball_'-Shirt and gray jogging pants. I put my long ginger hair into a pony tail and slipped on my running shoes, a gift from Dad to my fourteenth birthday. I was well aware of the fact that I had no orientation at all around the city, but I put my cell and Luzi's map into my trouser pockets and knew that it would help me out if I was in trouble. I decided not to take the room key. There was only one, after all, and Amber would be wide awake by the time I came back.  
I closed the door of Room 13 quietly behind me. I quickly left the hotel and before I knew it, I was standing on the Piazza dei Priori. It was even more beautiful at this time of day, when the sun was just going up. I made a pic with my cellphone and made a mental note to send it to Mom and Dad when I was back in the hotel room with Am.  
I ran past the café and the little bookstore Amber and I had been in yesterday. It had been such a perfect day! Eventhough I was excited to see the _Porta all'Arco_ today, I wished that I wouldn't need to go on the tour today. I just wanted to walk around town again with her.

I quickly reached the highway that would take me out of town. I jogged on the right side of the street the car's drove on for about fourty-five minutes until I saw a forest coming up on my right. I spontaneously decided to continue my jog in there and before I knew it, I was surrounded by trees. After a few meters, I layed down on the still wet grass and stared up at the sky. It was blue with a hint of red, because the sun had just gone up. I took a picture and immediately sent it to Amber via MMS. I knew she'd love it. I wanted to check my Facebook feed, too, but I had no Internet.

'_Well, that was unexpected_' I told myself sarcastically and continued running.

**AMBER POV**

I was awoken by my cellphone vibrating. I looked at the time. It was 6:13 AM. Who the heck sent messages this early in the morning? I argued with myself on wether I should look at the message or go back to sleep, but in the end, my curiosity won. It was Pheebs.

_What?!_  
She was lying right next to me! Why would she-

Oh. She was gone.

Where the heck was she?!

I checked my phone; it was an untitled MMS. I opened it and the picture of a red bluish sky that was barely visible through a bunch of trees filled my display.

Again, where the heck was she?

It made no sense.

Was she jogging?

I looked through her suitcase. Her red running shoes were missing.

_Good_.

At least now I knew she was jogging and in some forest now.

But when would she be back?  
And most importantly, _would she find the way back?!_

I panicked, and quickly wrote her back.

'_Pheebs Evans, were the heck are you and when are you gonna be back I'm worrying sick_'

I lied back onto the bed. I didn't even realize I'd stood up. Now I was lying here, waiting for her to answer.

But she didn't answer.

**PHOEBE POV**

I'd been running for a long time now and I was starting to get exhausted. Immediately, I realized I would have to return. Now. Or I would faint or something.

I hated myself for not realizing this earlier.

I turned around and ran back the way I'd come.  
But I was exhausted way to quickly.  
I took Luzi's map from my trouser pocket and stared at it blankly as I noticed that the forest was only a big, green dot. No paths.

_No way out._

I was on my own with my problem.  
I panicked. What was I to do? Where should I run?! Right? Left? North? South?!  
I didn't know where to go, so I did the only thing that appeared reasonable to me: Run. In any direction. Hoping I would reach Volterra. Hoping I would see Amber.  
I ran and ran and ran, but no matter how long, there was only forest. It seemed as if the forest had no boundaries and I was damned to run around here helplessly for eternity. Wherever I ran, the only thing I saw was trees.

_Trees everywhere._

Fear began to eat me up on the inside. From looking at the map, I knew that the forest was almost as big as the city.  
And the city wasn't that small, either.

What if I was in the middle of the forest? I had been running for about an hour now, I surely would not have enough energy to find my way out.

I had only slept for about four hours, and my lack of sleep began to take toll on me. I fighted to keep my eyes open, but deep down, I knew I was fighting the inevitable. I would fall asleep in the middle of the forest, unprotected.

I would certainly not tell my kids this part of the story.

_Hope dies last_, I told myself and continued running. But then, all of a sudden, I tripped over something and was lying face-down in the dirt.

I could not hold the tears back anymore.  
_I was trapped._  
I would never see Amber again. She would return home without me in two weeks, and my body would be found a few days later by a naïve wanderer, or perhaps a child, traumatizing it for life.

_I would die._

That's when I heard it.

Someone was behind me. The sound was barely audible, but I heard it.

Panick. Fear.  
Fear. Panick.

_Fear_.

**ARO POV**

Alec and I stood only meters away from a young, maybe fourteen year-old girl with fair hair. She was lying on the ground, face-down. She wore a mint T-shirt and grey jogging pants.

I could hear the obvious fear in her telltale heartbeats.

Her blood smelled hypnotizing; sweet, but not too sweet. I had had several humans today, and my thirst had been satisfied long ago, but this human...

_Oh! What a gift!_

"Master, the girl..." I could tell from Alec's voice that the smell of the girl's blood had the same effect on him as it had on me; he was in agony.

"Alec. Control yourself." I ordered. "How many have you had already?"

"Seven, Master." He replied.

I nodded. "Go back to the castle. I will deal with the girl personally." He was left in an instant.

"Please" she whispered, her tone more than just desperate. "Don't hurt me."

"I am afraid I cannot promise you that" I said, the bloodlust overwhelming my sense of logic. _You will be my dessert, young one._

**PHOEBE POV**

With my last bit of energy, I looked up. The man that was going to kill me had long mahogany hair and black eyes like charcoal. He was beautiful.

_A beautiful devil._

"Don't worry" he said, his voice entirely calm, soothing, even. "It won't hurt for long."

In a matter of milliseconds, my body was on fire. I let out a surprised, uncontrolled scream of undeniable pain. I looked next to me, and saw him bite down into my jugular.

_I will die._

My life was over.

A single tear left my eyes. In that moment, my cell vibrated next to me. It was a message from Amber.

_Amber_.

'_Pheebs Evans, were the heck are you and when are you gonna be back I'm worrying sick'_

_So was I, Am, so was I_, I thought, and with that I succumbed into darkness.

**AMBER POV**

I had been lying on my bed, staring off into the void, waiting for Hurts's 'Help' to release me from my panick for over two hours now.

Only that it didn't.

_What had happened to her?_

Something must have happened. I knew Pheebs too well to think that nothing had; she always replied to my messages, no matter what she was doing.

_Something had happened. Something terrible._

"No. It can't have." I told myself and turned on the TV to keep my thoughts from wandering. But what I saw left me not only speechless; it left me paralyzed in terror, goosebumps forming on every inch of my body.

_No_.

"This morning, the British tourist Phoebe Evans, fourteen, was found dead in the Foresta Berignone. According to the police, she was murdered brutally; her body was completely bloodless when found. If you have any information about her murder, please call-"

I turned off the TV.  
Pheebs. Dead. Murdered.  
Me. Alone. Crying.

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	4. Chapter 4: The Girl in Black

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not own Twilight! The characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot are mine.**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 4 - The Girl in Black

_by xMiaCarax_

**AMBER POV**

_"Hey Girls, this is Luzi. I just wanted to remind you that you were supposed to be at the Porta all'Arco twenty minutes ago. Please hurry up, we are on a tight schedule."_

_"Hey, it's me again. Where are you two?! I've been waiting for you for an hour now!"_

_"I'm coming to see if you are still in the hotel. You better be waiting outside when I come."_

_"Come out now or I will call your parents...!"_

_"I am beyond furious."_

_"Oh my God, I just heard. Sorry to be so rude, Amber. Stay inside as long as you want. I'll call Phoebe's parents. Give me a call if you're going to go to the tour of Volturi Castle tomorrow or not. Best wishes, Luzi."_

I smiled when I listened to my voicemails. I'd stayed inside the entire day and skipped the _Porta all'Arco_ tour without even calling Luzi to tell her I wasn't coming. I didn't care. Pheebs, my best friend and soul mate was dead, and not only dead but _murdered_, and not only murdered, but murdered _brutally_. I sure as hell wasn't going to go on a tour now.  
Mom had called in the evening. She had been devasted when I told her what had happened. She'd said she could come and pick me up in two days, and that I should just stay in my hotel room the entire time. "Watch TV and read a book or something, one of you dead is enough" she had said. And I'd done exactly that the entire evening; I had read '_Pride and Prejudice'_, my favorite book, for the about tenth time and then watched something like the X-Factor but in Italian.

But now it was morning and I sure as hell wouldn't stay inside if I had another two days in one of the most beautiful towns in Toscany and my best friend's murderer was still not behind bars. So I put on my red Harvard T-Shirt and some Jeans and before I knew it, I was on the Piazza dei Priori. I knew I had to find something out about Pheeb's death, and I knew I had to find it out fast. What was I supposed to do?

The town police office was located on the other side of the restaurant I had been to with Pheebs on our first day here. The chief was able to talk to me right away; I guess there really wasn't that much to do here, in Volterra. He was one meter sixty, fat and had greasy black hair. And he smelled of alcohol.  
I had taken a seat in his office. It was a perfect square of three times three meters, the walls were painted in a light blue color, but the paint was beginning to crumble in a few spots, and the main source of light was a small window that led out to a brick wall. All in all, the atmosphere was quite depressing.

I wondered if he was happy with his life.

"Buongiorno. How can I help you, Ms Brown?" He greeted me as he entered and I stood up, shaking his hand.

"I want to know anything you can tell me about Ms Evans' death." I said, loud and clearly, not allowing any doubts concerning what I wanted fro, him. "And if I may ask, how come you know my name?"

"Well, as they say, you need to know the past to understand the presence, which is why we researched why Ms Evans was in Volterra and who she was with."

"Ah," I said. "Well, what can you tell me?"

"Well, Ms Brown, first of all I would offer you to allow me to call you by your first name, considering your age."

"I decline" I replied, not wanting him to think of me as a child. After all, my request was a serious one and I wanted him to take me seriously.

"Are you sure? I do feel a little silly calling a fourteen year-old '_Miss_'." He confessed to me.

"And I would feel silly if you were to call me by my first name." I replied sharply.

There was a long, awkward silence before he spoke up again. "Is there anyone to take care of you now?" he asked.

I nodded. "My mother will be here to pick me up in two hours." I lied, not wanting him to assign some Italian cop to take care of me. Truly, that was the last thing I needed now.

"All right," he answered. "Then let me tell you that I am not allowed to tell anyone except of _close relatives_ like mother and father anything about Ms Evans' death at all. You will not be an exception."

_**What?!**_

"But I need to know what happened to her!" I pleaded, shocked. I had imagined this way easier. "I heard that there was no blood left in her body when she was found. Please, I need to know what happened to her, she was my best friend!"

"I am sorry, Ms Brown, but as I have said earlier, you will not be an exception. Now, I have business to attend to. _Have a nice stay at Volterra_."

"**No**!" I yelled at him. "I'm not going yet. Let me tell you something, _Chief_" I said, pronouncing the '_chief_' like it was a bad thing. "Phoebe was not just a friend to me, she was like a _sister_. My life in the last four years has been pretty much miserable, but at least I had her, and she helped me out. But now, _Chief_, she has been murdered, and I fall back into the hole of anger, fear and uncertainty I was in before she came into my life. She was like a saint, _Chief_, she made my life worthy of being lived." I was in tears by now. "She made me realize there was hope for me, that there were people, like her, that shared my view on things. And now I come here with her, and she is not only dead but _murdered_, and not only murdered but _brutally_ murdered and I suddenly feel like comitting suicide because there is nothing good in my life anymore but my family. And here _you_ are, and you refuse to tell me what exactly happened to her because I'm not her _family_. It is because of people like you that nobody trusts the police anymore."

He just stared at me, dumbstruck. "_Have a nice stay at Volterra_" he repeated after a while, not looking me in the eyes, and I knew I'd hit a nerve.  
And with that, he showed me the way out of his office and closed the door behind me.

**JANE POV**

Why was it that it was always me who had to leave the castle to get something if the Masters needed anything? I was a member of the _Elite_ Guard, for crying out loud, and this was a _lower_ guard's job. I had better things to do with my time than going out to buy a book Master Marcus had requested and pushing my self control to the absolute limit, after all.  
I sighed. The bookstore was filled with tourists whose throats I wanted to rip out, but wasn't allowed to. Next time, I'd get what I needed to get in another city. I could do whatever I wanted with the tourists there.  
I finally found the book; it was bright blue with a black and a white cloud on it. It was called '_The Fault in Our Stars_'. Pathetic. Why did the Master spent his time reading such dirt? Then again, it was none of my business. What was my business was how I was going to get back to the castle without killing one or two humans on the way.  
The last thing I was going to do was to pay for the book. I took it and ran out, quick enough for no human to be able to notice.  
I was now standing on the Piazza dei Priori. Luckily, the sun was not shining and I could take the normal route back to the castle without exposing our secret. I pulled the hood from my pitch black coat on, regardless. One could never be to careful, after all. I would be in the castle in just a few seconds, and my torture would be over.

That was when I smelled it.

It was the most alluring blood I had ever smelled. Juicy, but not too sweet. Just perfect.

It belonged to a maybe fourteen year-old girl who was sitting directly on the fountain in the city center. _Damn_. What was I to do now?  
Kill her and get it over with? No, at least not here. Aro and the other Masters would kill me for killing a human girl in public.  
Leave and try to forget this girl even existed? _Impossible_. If I could not have her now, I would have to have her later.  
But then, there was a way I could have her quite soon...

"Excuse me" I said with a polite smile on my face as I walked up to my cantate, as Aro would say. "Are you interested in a free tour of Volturi Castle? The castle is quite enchanting, I can tell you."

She rolled her eyes. "Why is it everybody wants me to go on a tour of Volturi Castle lately? Someone asked me yesterday, too, eventhough I'm already scheduled for a tour tomorrow."

"You are?" I asked her. This sure was going easier than expected.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna go."

"Why ever not?" I demanded, devasted. "By the way, I'm Jane." And with that, I sat down on the fountain next to her. It took all my willpower not to kill her right here and now.

"I don't want to talk about it..." She said. _Yes you do_, I thought.

"You can always trust me..."

"Well, I guess I can tell you," she surrendered. "My friend was found dead yesterday in the forest and I don't think I'll be able to concentrate."

_The forest? Wasn't that were Master Aro and Alec had been hunting yesterday? What a coincidence.._. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," she said. "I hate it when people say they are sorry but really there is no reason for them to be. It is just so unnecessary."  
_Well, she had a point. If she was a vampire, I'm sure we would get along just fine. Too bad for her her blood was so alluring..._

"Well, I'll need to get going," I said, knowing I couldn't control myself much longer as the thirst for her blood burned my throat. "But I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be able to make it." I said and stood up.

"Bye Jane" my cantate said and I left.

'._..and if she doesn't come tomorrow, I'll come for her_' I thought as I closed the doors of Volturi Castle behind me.

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	5. Chapter 5: The Devil Returns

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters! The characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot are mine.**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**

Chapter 5 - The Return of The Devil

_by xMiaCarax_

**JANE POV**

The Masters were sitting emotionlessly on their black and gold chairs when I opened the heavy doors to the Throne Room. As usual, Master Marcus' eyes were staring into the void. I don't think he even noticed my presence. Caius seemed unimpressed and eyed me sceptically. Aro, obviously desperate for some entertainment, immediately stood up and sprinted into my direction.

"Jane, my dear!"

"_Master_" I greeted. He stared at me intently before he replied.

"Tell me, _cara_, what were you up to? You were gone for quite a while."

"I was in town to get a book for Master Marcus."

Aro slowly turned his head towards Marcus and stared at him for what seemed like half an eternity. Then he noticed that Marcus was not paying attention. "Marcus, Jane has brought you your book, as requested."

In an instance, he looked up. His eyes looked confused, but when he saw me and the book in my hand, he answered "Oh, that. Thank you, Jane."

"You are welcome, _Master_" I told him, hurried over to him, brought him the book, smiled and turned to leave when I felt Aro's hands holding me back.

"Is anything the matter, _Master_?" I asked with my most innocent sounding voice. He turned to his brothers, showing me his back.

"Actually, there is, dear one. Just why did this task take you so long? You could have been back in two minutes, yet you took almost ten." I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew he would punish me for lack of respect if I were to. Just why did he have to make such a big fuss about a few minutes?

"I see no need to tell you if with a single touch of my hand, you know exactly what happened, _Master_."

"Yes, Jane, but quite frankly, all of us would like to know to. So if you don't mind, please go on and tell us." Caius hissed.

I sighed. But then again, it wasn't a thing I'd want to hide from them, anyway. I mean, they could not possibly blame me for this, could they?

"I smelled the blood of a human girl on the way back, Master. It smelled so good it made my throat burn even though I've just fed this morning. I knew I couldn't kill her there and then, so I spent some time trying to get her to go to the Tour tomorrow."

"Well?" Caius asked aggressively. "Is she going to come?"

"I don't know, _Master_, she said she was signed up for the Tour tomorrow anyways but was not clear on wether she would come or not."

"_Nonsense_!" Aro exclaimed. "Why would anybody in their right mind not want to attend a free tour of a beautiful Italian castle like this?"

"Let me show you" I said and with that, my hand touched his and he closed his eyes.

**ARO POV**

"Let me show you" Jane said and put her slender hand in my mine. Immediately, her memories started entering my head and I saw her talking to me just a few seconds ago. I went back a few minutes and saw her in the bookstore. Maybe that was a good place to start to fast forward up onto the point where it was getting interesting.

I saw Jane standing in the bookstore which was small and filled with tourists. She thought about killing them for a short time but then abandoned it. She then grabbed the book Marcus had sent her to get and sprinted out of the book store. She was standing on the Piazza dei Priori. Perfect. I'd just go from here, then.

_That was when I smelled it._

_It was the most alluring blood I had ever smelled. Juicy, but not too sweet. Just perfect._

_It belonged to a maybe fourteen year-old girl who was sitting directly on the fountain in the city center. Damn. What was I to do now?_

I felt my heart melt as I saw her. She was absolutely beautiful. Her hair was brown and went up to her breasts, her eyes were a stunning shade of green and her clothes complemented her perfectly. I felt the desire to kiss her come up in me. _'Silly me!' _I thought. _'Thinking that way of a human another vampire had requested to kill!'_

_Kill her and get it over with? No, at least not here. Aro and the other Masters would kill me for killing a human girl in public.  
Leave and try to forget this girl even existed? Impossible. If I could not have her now, I would have to have her later.  
But then, there was a way I could have her quite soon..._

How dare she thought of thinking of the girl in that way! She was **mine** and I would not let anybody ever hurt her!

"_Excuse me" I said with a polite smile on my face as I walked up to my cantate, as Aro would say. "Are you interested in a free tour of Volturi Castle? The castle is quite enchanting, I can tell you."_

_She rolled her eyes. "Why is it everybody wants me to go on a tour of Volturi Castle lately? Someone asked me yesterday, too, eventhough I'm already scheduled for a tour tomorrow."_

_"You are?" I asked her. This sure was going easier than expected._

_"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna go."_

_"Why ever not?" I demanded, devasted. "By the way, I'm Jane." And with that, I sat down on the fountain next to her. It took all my willpower not to kill her right here and now._

_"I don't want to talk about it..." She said. Yes you do, I thought._

_"You can always trust me..."_

_"Well, I guess I can tell you," she surrendered. "My friend was found dead yesterday in the forest and I don't think I'll be able to concentrate."_

_The forest? Wasn't that were Master Aro and Alec had been hunting yesterday? What a coincidence..._

If my heart was still beating, I'd be sure it'd have stopped that instance in shock. I had brought unbelievable pain and grief over her without having even met her in person.  
_'Oh, stop it_.' I told myself. _'You could never feel this strongly for a human_.'  
Or could I?

_"I'm sorry."_

_"You don't have to be," she said. "I hate it when people say they are sorry but really there is no reason for them to be. It is just so unnecessary."  
Well, she had a point. If she was a vampire, I'm sure we would get along just fine. Too bad for her her blood was so alluring..._

_"Well, I'll need to get going," I said, knowing I couldn't control myself much longer as the thirst for her blood burned my throat. "But I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be able to make it." I said and stood up.  
"Bye Jane" my cantate said and I left._

I opened my eyes. Jane was staring at me expectantly. What did she want again? Whatever it was, it would have to wait for now.

"Jane?"

"Yes, _Master_?"

"Bring her in tomorrow after the Tour. And do not harm her, under any circumstances."

"Have you gone out of your mind?" Caius cried. "That girl is obviously Janes cantate and by not letting her kill her, you are pushing her self control to the absolute limit!"

"Ah, Caius." Marcus chimed in. "Aro must do this."

Caius sighed. "Fine. I'll take my leave now; my opinion is not valued anymore."

"I will leave then, too, Master."

"Yes, alright Jane. I'm sorry for doing this to you, but you'll understand soon." She nodded and left.

"Marcus, could we talk in my study?"

"Aro, what did you see in her memories?"

"A girl, Marcus. Perhaps, no, for sure the most beautiful one I have ever seen. It sounds awkward, but the second I saw her I just felt this desire to kiss her. What is going on with me, brother?!"

He laughed. Why the heck did he laugh? _This was serious_.

"Aro, that girl you have seen is your mate, and what you felt towards her was the mating pull. Congratulations, Aro. I'm so happy you've found someone after Sulpicia's death. This is marvellous."

Marvellous? _Marvellous?! _This was breath-taking! Heart-stopping! Awesome! The best thing that had ever happened to me!

"Do you think she'll think this way of me, too?"

"I don't know, Aro, but if you want her to like you, be on your best behaviour, and do not frighten her. I'm sure she will if you are not too scary."

"Still, I have a problem." I noted.

"What is it, brother?"

"I killed her best friend, Marcus. I haven't even met her and subconsciously she hates me already."

"I don't see how this is a problem?"

"Well why should it not be?!"

"Just don't tell her" he said. "Unless her gift is mindreading, which I seriously doubt, you'll be out of trouble."

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	6. Chapter 6: The Castle

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters! The characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot are mine.  
**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**

Chapter 6 - Private Tour

_by xMiaCarax_

**AMBER POV**

Yesterday had been quite depressing.

After I had yelled at the Chief of Police for rejecting my request of telling me about Phoebe's death, I had talked to Jane, who obviously worked at Volturi Castle, needed to find tourists to go on the tours and was going to go on a funeral that day, considering her clothing. Then, I'd bought myself a new copy of '_The Picture of Dorian Gray_' by Oscar Wilde in the little bookstore on the Piazza dei Priori and spent the rest of the day following my mother's advice and reading and watching Italian television. She'd called in the afternoon, telling me she'd delay her visit for another day because the flight she'd booked had been cancelled. Just great. I mean, what was I to do here after my encounter with the Chief except than read?

"Is that a problem for you, cherry?" she had asked, concerned.

"Not a bit," I had answered, not wanting to make her feel any worse than she was feeling already.

Eventhough, truthfully, I had a problem with it, and besides, I had already finished _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ and italian Television was starting to annoy me. So today, I found myself back in the little bookstore, searching for a new and entertaining novel to read. I spent hours and hours searching every corner before I finally settled on '_The Perfume_', eventhough I had read it about seventeen times already. I payed and left. The tourists, that had filled the Piazza just two and a half hours ago, were gone. I smiled; I wasn't the person for large gatherings of any sort, anyway. I didn't want to go back to the hotel room just yet, so I sat myself back on the fountain, just like yesterday, and started reading. I was just at the point where Grenouille's mother was hanged that I heard her.

"Same place, same time, eh?" I looked up, just to see Jane, the blonde, beautiful thirteen year-old, smiling down at me, even more beautiful than yesterday. Her hair was worn open and she wore a long black robe. Black robe? Again? Why would she- Oh God.

_Her eyes_.

They were red, a perfect shade of crimson.

How could this be?

"I... I... _your eyes_..." I stuttered.

"Don't think about it," she smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

"Are you mad at me because I didn't come to the tour?" I regretted asking as soon as the question left my lips. She stared at me, surprised.

"Of course not! I respect your decision and I understand why you didn't manage. Why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. I'm just trying to figure out why you are here. I mean, not in a mean way, just, you know, thinking about a logical reason."

"I don't think there is one, to be honest. I just saw you sitting there and wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, okay."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure" I answered and wondered where she was going with this.

"Are you still sad about your friend's death?"

I shuddered and tried to hold back my tears. "Oh God, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still so attached." She took my hand in hers. It was ice cold. "What is your name?"

"Amber" I answered.

"Amber" she repeated and smiled. "I'm sorry for reminding you. It was not my intention to make you feel this sad, I assure you."

"It's fine." I said and wished she would not make such a big deal out of this. "So how was the tour?" I asked, making small talk.

"Very nice, I can tell you." There was a short silence. Then her face lightened up as if she had just had an idea. "Wait, I have an idea. How about I give you a _private_ tour right now?"

A private tour? Now? To be honest, I didn't really feel like it, but on the other hand, Jane was really nice to me and it would be quite rude to decline such an offer. Also, I felt a little protective of her because she was younger than me.

"That's a fabulous idea!" I answered, trying to sound excited.

"Wonderful!" she said and stood up. So did I. "Let's go."

We walked towards Volturi Castle and Jane opened the large wood doors for us. We then walked past a reception area where a beautiful, brunette woman was sitting behind a Mac Book.

"Jane" she greeted politely.

"Gianna" Jane replied rather unimpressed and didn't even look at her.

A few seconds later, we had reached a big, modern elevator. Jane pressed the button that was numbered '4' and the heavy doors closed.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Isn't this a medieval castle or something? How come there is an elevator? And why are we going to the _fourth_ floor?"

She didn't answer. She didn't even shrug, she just completely ignored me. _What was happening? _Did I have to be worried?

Just then, the doors opened and we reached a long corridor with a polished dark wood floor and high ceilings. The corridor was like a labyrinth; it went right, then left, then right, right again, and left. After a few dozen turns I lost track.

Eventually, we stood infront of another pair of heavy wooden doors. "You better behave" she told me quietly, almost inaudible. Before I had time to answer, the doors flew open and we entered a giant circle-shaped room with high ceilings, numerous gigantic windows and a dome with Michelangelo-like paintings. In it, there were three beautiful men with crimson eyes and papyrus-like skin; they were sitting on black thrones with gold elements and stared at me intently. Behind them stood ten red eyed men in black robes like Jane's, their faces emotionless, dead. The man who was sitting on the middle throne stood up. He had long, black hair and wore a black suit. His eyes were staring at me curiously.

"Jane! I see you have returned with the girl, as requested."

"Yes, _Master_" she replied and smiled; but this smile was not a polite, forced one, it was a real one that came straight from her heart.

"I trust there were not any complications?"

"No, _Master_."

"Excellent." The man looked back to me. "Welcome to Volterra," he told me wholeheartedly. "I am Aro, and these-" he pointed at the other two men on the thrones. The one on the left throne had long, brown curls and his eyes stared into the distance; the other one had blond hair and eyed me excitedly. "...are my brothers, Marcus and Caius. I trust you have got to know our beautiful Jane here?"

"I have" I replied uncertainly.

"And what is your name, dear one?"

"A...Amber" I whispered. "Amber Rose Brown." The man that had introduced himself as Aro smiled. "A beautiful name, isn't it, brothers?"

"Aro, get down to business" Caius scolded.

"Don't be so aggressive, brother" he answered and turned back to me. "Now Amber, give me your hand."

_What_?! What was he going to do? "W... Why?" I stottered.

"Now dear, don't go asking questions just yet. Give me your hand. Now." He demanded.

I slowly walked towards Aro, my hand reaching out towards him, knowing I did not have a , he was before me.

_What?! How could that be? He had been ten meters away from me just a second ago! How could he move in such an inhuman speed?!_

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked, but he simply ignored me.  
Aro grabbed my hand and closed his eyes. About two seconds later, he opened them again.

"She knows of nothing, Caius, she is no danger."

"Just as you thought, Aro."

"Excuse me," I interupted their conversation. "Would somebody please care to tell me what you are talking about?"

Aro and Caius exchanged meaningful glances. Then Aro began.

"Well, I guess I can tell you. We are vampires, Amber. We feed of human blood and we live forever. That is why we have red eyes and have the ability to move at an inhuman pace."

No way. Vampires didn't exist!

On the other hand, why did they have red eyes, then? And why could they move this quickly?

_He must have been telling the truth._

"But why have you brought me here? And who are you?"

"Our coven is named the Volturi. We have made it our job to reinforce the vampire laws: that humans must not know of vampires and 'new' vampires, we call them newborns, must not kill too ficiously for humans to find out. Caius, Marcus and I are the rulers, the others, including our dear Jane, are part of the Guard; they protect us and go on quests we assign them to go on.  
Then, I guess I should also tell you that some vampires have gifts; I for instance have the gift to see all thoughts a person has ever had with a single touch, which is why I wanted you to give me your hand; I had to see if you knew about us already.  
But my gift is also the way I found you. Yesterday, Jane was out to get something from the city, and when she came back, I took her hand and saw you.  
Let me tell you this in the most simple way I know: You, Amber Rose Brown, are my mate. It is our destiny to live together for eternity. I have brought you here because of this. We shall live together. Forever."

He stared at me and waited for my reaction. Should I give him the satisfaction of crying? Or should I just give him an emotionless pokerface?

I did neither nor.

"Well?" he asked. "What do you think, _mia cara_?

"Is this a joke?" I asked bluntly. "If you want to kill me, just do it now."

He stared at me incredulously. I realized he was dead serious. "I would never hurt you, Amber, for you are my mate and I shall love you and give you everything your heart would ever desire. I shall never kill you. I shall merely turn you."

"Turn me?"

"...into a vampire, yes. As I said, we shall live together in immortality."

"And if I don't want to be turned?" I replied headstrong.

"I am afraid you have no choice in that matter, _cara_. Heidi, Jane, bring her to her room. I shall see her later in the day."

And with that, I was dragged out of the throne room.

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Mice and The Rabbits

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters! I do own the characters Amber Brown, Phoebe Evans and the plot.**

**Chapter 7**

**AMBER POV**

Heidi and Jane brought me to my room without a word and closed the door quietly behind me. The room was luxurious, had dark red walls, polished wooden floor and long white windows. There were several Botticellis on the wall (were they originals?), only a few of which I recognized: "Pallas and the Cat" and "La Primavera". I let myself fall on the white, king-sized bed in the middle of the room and let out a cry.

Why me?

Would I have known when I agreed to go to Italy with Pheebs that she would be murdered and I imprisoned in an ancient castle by vampires and never again allowed to see Mom or Dad or Pheebs again, I never would have gone. But yet, I had went, and I had with excitement. It's funny how fate is ironic at times, I thought and burrowed my head in the pillows.  
_Ruby_... I would never see her getting her braces. Or her and her first boyfriend. Or her going to prom. Or her marrying. Or anything of her, ever, ever again.  
What would they think? Mom would be in a few hours and she would assume I was kidnapped, or killed, too, just like Phoebe, and she would tell Ruby and Dad that they should pray for my soul and Ruby would need to go to a therapist one day because the entire experience had been traumatic for her.

On the other hand, I really could use someone praying for me.

At the moment, I wished for death. I mean, what was the alternative? Being turned into a bloodthirsty, soulless monster in the not-too-distant future and being forced to be the mate of an obviously non-empathetic, arrogant mind-reader. At least death didn't bring any problems or complications with it.  
I stood up and explored the room. I found two other doors; one led to a gigantic bathroom, the other one opened to a walk-in-closet. I turned on the lights, and to my never ending surprise, there were both men and women clothes inside. Why would they-  
Oh.  
_Oh._  
_Oh My God!_  
This wasn't my room, it was...  
..._his._

I had been in this room for a mere ten minutes and already I hated it eventhough it was of an absolutely stunning beauty. I decided to take a shower to take my mind off my unfortunate situation. Fortunately, it worked. But when I walked out of the bathroom thirty minutes later, I was immediately faced by a problem.

What was I to wear?

I walked back to the closet. All of the clothes were black. I chose a long, black dress and high heels. It was classic, and I really could not do anything wrong with it. Then, I made my way to a large bookcase on the right side of the bed and helped myself to 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' by Victor Hugo. It was well-written and before I knew it, I found myself in medieval Paris, far away from all my problems and the real world.

**ARO POV**

She had been even more beautiful in real life than in Jane's memories, which I had thought was sheerly impossible. But the second Amber (what a pretty name!) had walked in, if ot had been possible, I would have had a heart attack from too much happiness.

She was _mine_, and she was perfect.

I had read her thoughts and if there had been any doubts on her being my mate, they would have been distinguished that very moment. Amber was a creative, pensive, intellectual, outsider girl who had never experienced true happiness but surely would find it with me.  
After all, we were mates.

Then came the not-so-nice part of our meeting and I had to explain our kind, our rules and the mating bond to her. She listened attentively, but still I had had the feeling that deep down, she was scared of us and fighting her instinct to run. I had had to send her to my room for the time being as Caius and Marcus and I yet had to deal with numerous newborns that had hunted in the city lately. But the second I would be finished, I would be knocking on her door.  
And I just could not wait for that to happen...

**AMBER POV**

I had read all the way up to page seventy-four when I heard a knock on the door. Immediately, I froze. Was this...  
..._him?_

"Hello?" I asked in nothing but a whisper.

"It is me, Amber, Aro. I have come because I wish to speak to you. Can I come in?"

I paused. But really, did I really have a choice? Could I really just say 'no'? "Yes."

In an instant, the heavy wooden door opened and he was standing beside me.

"Amber. Forgive me I could not be with you directly after our first meeting, but I had some business to take care of with my brothers."

"That's...fine" I answered nervously, weighing everyone of my words.

He smiled a heart-warming smile. "Good. Amber, I know this situation is not easy for you, but you must believe me when I tell you that I will take good care of you and that you will be happy here. All you have to do is accept your destiny." He stopped. "I know that that will not be easy for you and that it will take time. I want you to know that I will be there for you. Always."

I did not know what to answer, but what with his mind reading and all, I figured it would be better to tell him the truth.

"Aro, I don't know if I ever can accept that this is my destiny. I will never see my family again, I'm far from home and I'm in a castle full of vampires." I regretted the words the instand they left my lips. Aro however seemed pleased that I was honest with him.

"Ah, _cara_. First of all, in due time this castle will be your home, and the vampires surrounding you will not be a problem when you are one of them."

"About that..." I answered. "I'm not really sure that I'm fine with that, either."

He seemed displeased. "_Cara_, you are my mate and there are many of your problems I can help you with. This one, however, is the only one that is a necessarity. There is no alternative, Amber, and I am sorry, but it will be fine. You will live forever and you will never feel physical pain again unless you are attacked."

I whispered my reply. "I don't want to be a monster."

He thought about this for a moment before he spoke again. "Amber, let me explain something to you. It is in the human nature to kill animals for their flesh. For example, humans kill rabbits. But before the rabbit was killed, it was hungry and killed a mouse. The mouse population does not increase too rapidly because there will always be rabbits to kill them for their flesh, but there are not too many rabbits that the population dies out entirely. Do you understand me this far?"

I nodded. His argumentation was fully logical so far.

"The same principle applies to humans. They are like rabbits: they kill smaller animals for their flesh. But if there are too many humans, the rabbits they kill die out, too, because there are not enough rabbits for the human population. As a result, the humans start to eat the mice because they are hungry and the mice are at least edible. Then, the human population will grow again, and as a result, the mice will soon die out because there are more humans than mice. And then, what will they eat? Should they eat the grass the mice fed on? No human being will survive solely on grass and therefore sooner or later the humans, too, would die out, leaving absolutely nothing behind."

"They could have fed off fruits." I stated.

"Yes, but as the human population grows, there will soon not be enough fruits and because there are more humans than fruits, the fruits cannot reproduce and after a few years, there will be no fruits. Anyway, I should get to the point. Let's go back to when there were still enough rabbits. Do you agree that if the human population would not have increased that rapidly, the rabbits and all following species would not have died out?"

I nodded.

"Well, that is why our kind exists. We feed off humans so that the population of humans does not increase to that dramatic point when every species dies out. That is why vampires exist, and that is why vampires are not monsters. In the perspective of a rabbit, humans are monsters, too."

I thought about this for a second. Everything made perfect sense except of one little thing. "But who guarantees that the vampire population will not increase too rapidly?"

He smiled. "That, _mia cara_, is where we, the Volturi, come in. We have created laws for two reasons: to ensure that there is no such increase and so that no human knows of our secret who will not become a vampire or is killed. And my brothers and I spend our time to guarantee that no one breaks these laws."

"Thank you for explaining it to me this way, Aro, it really helped me understand."

"Anytime, Amber. So, do you still not want to be a monster?"

I thought about this quite some time before I could answer. "Well, I am not looking forward to it, but I do have a higher opinion on vampires, especially The Volturi, now."

"Well, that is much better than five minutes ago. And about your family: I am sure you could call them once or twice to tell them that you are fine. Without giving them the details, of course. You know the laws now, Amber, and you know what would happen to them."

I did, and that was, in my opinion, the best argument there could ever be to tell them only what they absolutely needed to know.

"I do. Thank you, Aro. This means a lot to me."

He looked me in the eyes. "You are my mate, Amber, I would do anything to see you happy." Before I could react, he was at my neck.  
Was he...?  
Would he really be...?

Whatever he was doing, it felt _good_.

"I love you more than my life" he whispered softly and kissed my neck passionately. He then stopped abruptly and in less than a millisecond he was sitting on a chair next to me.

What?! No! I wanted more!

'Stop thinking that way!' my brain scolded me, but I did not listen.

"I am deeply sorry for this, dear one. I lost control and-"

"Don't worry." I interrupted. "I hate to tell you, but I actually liked it."

Silence.

"You did?" he asked and his crimson eyes filled with excitement.

"Yes" I repeated with a bright smile on my lips. "Let me show you." And with that, my hand touched his and he closed his eyes in concentration, only to open them again three seconds later.

"Thirty minutes ago you thought of me as the impersonation of evil and now you think of me _this _way. I will never understand women."

And with that, his cold lips met mine.


	8. Chapter 8: A Brief Introduction

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: Again, I don't own anything, just Amber Brown, Phoebe Evans and the plot. **  
**Sorry for not updating earlier, but I had some writer's block paired with the realization that the story didn't work out the way I wanted it. Also nobody reviewed so I didn't know if I should continue the story at all. Well, I'm giving it another try. But review, otherwise maybe I'll just not continue it.**

**Also, thanks to all the follows and favs! I really appreciate it!**

**CHAPTER 8 - A Brief Introduction**

**ARO POV**

As Amber and I kissed, my hands went to her waist. I listened to her heartbeat and smirked when I noticed that it had become much quicker. It was better than any music I had ever heard. In my opinion, this was the best sound in the world.  
Curious, wasn't it? Magnificent what a single move of passion could do to a woman, considering she would have killed me not too long ago if she could have. Yet here we were.

Amber moaned as my tongue made its way into her mouth. Our tongues played with each other, and her hands drove through my long hair. I loved the way it felt, it was heaven.  
Suddenly, the kissing stopped and Amber smirked at me. She then went ahead and pulled off my cloak. I did the same to her dress, only that she did not have another layer underneath like I had. Her upper body was exposed to me, leaving only her bra to cover her breasts. I noticed she was looking at me in a concerned way, as if she was scared I did not like what I saw.  
She could not have been more wrong.

"Amber, you are absolutely perfect. I love you very much," I said and planted kisses on her stomach. She moaned in pleasure, and her heartbeats grew quicker. I smiled and was just about to pull off her bra, which was black with white lace, when I noticed the pain in my throat.

_Oh my._

Instinctively, I pulled away from her. I watched her face go from pleased to concerned, and it hurt to see her this way, but it was for her own good.

"Aro? What happened?" She asked and I could hear the despair in her voice.

"_Dear one_, I am deeply sorry for concerning you, it was not my concern. Indeed, I am as eager as you are to continue what we have just started, maybe even more. However, I just realized that by going a step further with you, I am pushing my self control to a limit. I don't want to take risks when it comes to your safety, cara."

**AMBER POV**

To be quite honest, I didn't know how to react, or even what to think, in that matter.  
For once in my life, I had surrendered to my feelings. I had ventured into a world of passion and yes, I had liked it. A lot, actually. And just when it had started to get even better, it had been over.

Just like that.

I listened to the logical part of my brain that told me that he was concerned for my safety and that he loved me. Point well taken. But somehow, I was still sad about it, eventhough _theoretically_ I should be happy that he did not want me to die. _Theoretically_, I should be honored that Aro, who, being a vampire, had obviously killed thousands of humans, cared enough about me to ignore his instincts to kill me. _Theoretically_. But practically, I was hurt.

"Are you alright, _mia cara_?"

I sighed. "I'm fine."

He stared at me and I could see the sadness in his suddenly black eyes. "_Dear one_, give me your hand."

I stretched my arm out in his directions. He took it slowly, and looked in my eyes the entire time. Only when he had finally reached it, he closed his eyes.  
It was silent when he went through my thoughts. I wondered what his reaction would be.

Before long, his eyes opened again. He just smiled a sad smile and then, with no warning, he pulled me into his arms.

"Oh, _darling_, I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you."

I sighed. "It's not your fault, Aro. I understand."

"_Darling_," he said. "Believe me, it is my biggest wish to finish what we just started as soon as possible. And believe me, we will once you are turned."

"You're being unfair, you know", I noted. "Using sex as a tool to get what you want."

He smirked. "Sex is what I want. Your change is just a necessary step in order to achieve it, unless you wish to die."

I blushed. "That sounds like it's the only thing you want from me. What do you want? Sex or Love?"

"I think this is not a situation where an 'or' is appropriate, Amber. It is more of an 'and' situation."

I smiled. He really loved me! Eventhough it was a weird way of saying _I Love You._

"You know," he continued. "We should talk about your change."

I giggled. "Are you really that desperate?"

"Desperate is an understatement. Remember, you are my mate and you are far beyond beautiful. Really. You might not be aware, _cara_, but you are breathtaking." He kissed me, and just when I thought he would go a step further, he pulled his lips away.

"We are getting off topic" he stated.

"Not that I mind, really" I admitted.

"Oh, Amber. I love you so much."

"And I... well, I'm not sure if it is love, but it's definetely at least a crush."

"Thank you for being honest with me, darling" he replied, pulling me even closer to him. "If there is one thing I hate, it is not hearing the truth."

"You are more than welcome." I smiled. He went on.

"Now, let's stop avoiding the topic any longer. Your change." He said, and I could see from his eyes that there was no arguing about it. He was dead serious.  
"Amber, you are my mate and you know about vampires. Therefore, there is no alternative. The question is merely when it will happen."

"Aro, first of all, I know almost nothing about Vampires. I mean, I know they exist, I know the Volturi exist, I know some vampires have special abilities and that vampires feed off blood. You can hardly call that knowing." I said. He stared at me blankly and then answered.

"Amber, that is more than you as a human should know. And anyway, if you want to find out more, you can just ask me, I will tell you."

"Well, okay then" I agreed. "I will agree to let you turn me if you tell me more about vampires, considering there is no other way."

He shook his head. "There is not, and it is good that you accept it. Also, I would be glad to tell you more. What exactly do you want to know?"

Well, what exactly did I want to know?

"Just tell me everything you think I should know."

"Alright then," he said, smiling. "Well, maybe... you said you knew that vampires feed on blood. That is true, however, not all vampires feed on human blood, like we do. These other vampires are called vegetarians and they feed off animal blood. As a result, they are weakier than vampires that drink human blood. You know, Amber, it is not in our nature to not drink from humans and it is not good for them. They are healthy, but they are different. For instance, they have amber eyes." I smiled when he mentioned the color I was named after. "They do this because they think they can escape being monsters by doing this."

"Nonsense," I interrupted. "Why do they run from what they are? They are vampires, so they might as well act like vampires. Also, killing animals is just as bad as killing humans."

"I am glad you see it is way, Amber. You know, it is like a human eatung Tofu: it sustains you, but it does not kill your appetite. In case you were wondering, you will of course feed of humans, like a real vampire.  
That covers vegetarian vampires... well, other things about vampires... if we are thirsty, our eyes turn black. And did I mention that vampires sparkle in the sun?"

I snorted. "You didn't," I replied. "I _definetely_ would have remembered that."

"Well, we do. It looks like our skin is made of thousands of tiny diamonds. That is why vampires never go out in the sun, we would risk exposure."

"Can you show me sometime?"

He smiled his heartwarming smile. "That can surely be arranged. Now, back to vampires... we don't sleep. We can't be killed unless we are ripped to pieces and burned afterwards. We can't commit suicide. Some vampires have gifts. Mine is mind reading, Marcus's is seeing people's bonds with other people. The Volturi Guard consists mainly of talented vampires."

"The Guard?" I asked.

"The Volturi consists of two parts: the coven and the Guard. The coven consists of me and my brothers and our mates. The Guard protects the coven and goes on quests to protect our secrets."

"Okay, carry on."

"The Guard also consists of two parts: the Guard and the Elite or Personal Guard. The Guard has mainly strong, but not talented vampires or vampires that have talents that are not of much use. The Elite Guard consists of vampires that are either remarkably strong or have remarkably useful talents. It currently consists of Alec, who can numb your senses, Jane, one of your guards, who can give you the illusion of pain, Chelsea, who can alter feelings, Demetri, who can track people and Felix, who is remarkably strong."

"What about Heidi?" I asked, remembering my other guard.

"She is not in the Elite Guard. Her job is to get humans for our feedings."

"And how does she do that?" I demanded, curious.

"She offers them a free tour of Volturi Castle. I believe you were offered one yourself before Jane found you."

"I was scheduled for one with my friend, in fact." I stated, feeling pain in the chest because of Phoebe. I missed her so much... what would she say if she knew I was even having this conversation with someone like Aro?

"Jane told me. I am sorry about your friend." He said, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"It is not your fault, is it? Carry on. I shouldn't think about Phoebe too much, it just makes me sad." I told him. He nodded and did as I requested, eventhough somehow he looked sad. What was up with him?

"Well, as I said, some vampires have gifts, others don't. It happens very rarely that a vampire has one, though. I have vampires in my Guard whose sole job it is to travel the world to find humans that could have talents."

"Aro?" I interrupted. "What if I don't have a talent?"

He laughed and kissed me on the forehead. "Oh, _cara_. It does not matter if you are gifted or not. You are not part of the Guard, but of the Coven."

"Do you think I will be gifted?" I insisted.

"I truly don't know, Amber" he said. "But as I said before, it is irrelevant."

"And what if, okay, I know I won't be, but, _hypothetically_, if I were to be a vampire with an extremely remarkable gift, like Jane or Chelsea", I inquired, "What would happen then?"

"Sweetheart, the chances are extremely slim. Also, with that kind of gift, we would have noticed by now. But yes, if you were to be that gifted, you would probably be offered a place in the Elite Guard additionally to your place in the coven. But that is not of importance. Now, where was I?"

His hands drove through my hair and I sighed. He continued talking and played with it. "Now, I believe, there are only two topics left. The change and... the **mating bond**." He pronounced the last part very clearly and slowly, smiling at me.

"The mating bond, dear one, is what we have. You see, every vampire has exactly one soul mate who he loves very dearly. Mates cannot leave each other. Mates cannot hurt each other, either. Mates feel a very strong desire to... mate." He gave me a dirty smile, which I replied. "Vampires are not complete without their mates."

"And how do you know we are mates? I mean, our urge to mate could just be lust, after all."

"Do you remember Marcus's gift?" he answered, "It is to see the bonds between people. I saw you the first time in Jane's memories. Marcus immediately noticed I had found you."  
He kissed me passionately. "I love you more than my life."  
Just as my hands reached his hips, he pulled back.

"Now Amber, mates cannot hurt each other, but every once in a while, accidents _do_ happen. For your own safety, we stop at this point."

I nodded. He carried on. "Now, _cara_, we are at the point where we come back to what we originally were going to talk about. The change. _Darling_, believe me when I tell you that maybe you do not want to hear this. I am telling you this last deliberately. If you want me to stop talking about it, just tell me, I will stop immediately. Okay?"

"Okay." I sighed, knowing there was no going back. What he would talk about was what would happen to me in the not-too-distant-future, so I would hear every part of it. I just hoped it wasn't as bad as he made it sound.

He sighed and began. "Now, when a vampire drinks blood, he goes into something we call _The Feeding Frenzy_; like a shark, once he has tasted a little, he cannot stop drinking until the victim's body is entirely emptied of blood. To stop the victim from getting away, vampire fangs are coated with vampire venom, which puts the victim into extreme agony, comparable with being burned alive. Now, if there is a vampire that has enough self control to resist the feeding frenzy, he leaves a little blood in the victim's body, causing the vampire venom to spread through its system. It changes each cell as it passes, which is excruciatingly painful, evenmore painful than being burned alive. The process takes two to three days and when the vampire wakes up, he is in desperate need of blood. We call them newborns. Normally, newborns take about ten years to gain some self control. Before that, they are reckless and kill entire villages if left unattended, which of course is not tolerable by our law." He looked me right in the eyes. I shivered.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" He asked, a hint of worry in his eyes.

I did not look at him. "Is the pain really that bad?" I asked, anxious.

He nodded. "Yes, but remember that we have Alec, who can numb your senses. He will numb you before you even feel anything and I will be by your side the entire time and we can just talk. _Darling_, with Alec's help, you won't feel a thing. Promise."

I sighed and looked at him. Gosh, he was so beautiful. Long black hair, black eyes, beautiful face... and best of all, he was _mine_.

"Okay," I sighed. "I trust you completely."

He gave me another one of his infamous heartbreaking smiles and pulled me away from him.

"Darling, you should sleep. You seem tired." He said, stroking my cheek gently. "But before you do, do you have any idea about the date of your change?"

I tensed. I wasn't ready to become a vampire, Not yet! And there was so much I still needed to do! Like finding Phoebe's murder and saying goodbye to Mom and Dad and Ruby and...

_...would I even be allowed to talk to them again?_

"No idea at all" I answered.

"Thought so" he replied. "We will have a meeting with my brothers tomorrow to discuss this. I am sorry to rush things, _cara_, but this is very important. I am sure you understand."

I nodded. "I do."

"Good." he answered, pushing me under the covers. I wasn't waring pyjamas, just my bra and black tights. _Never mind_, I thought. _It'll do_. When I was finally in bed, he kissed me on the forehead. "Goodnight, _dear one_. I love you." He stood up and was immediately at the door. "I will pick you up tomorrow at nine thirty."

With that, he was gone and I fell asleep.

**Okay, longest chapter by far! Hope you liked it. If you do, please leave a review, it makes me update ****_way_**** quicker. **

**Sorry that you probably knew all of this already, but Amber really had to find out. Hope it was fine anyways!**


	9. Chapter 9: Future Plans

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Again, Twilight belongs to Ms Meyer, I only own the characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot.**

**A gigantic thank you to eternaldance22 who has left me a great review that inspired me to update much quicker! This chapter is dedicated to you! You rock!**

**Thank you to all the follows and favorites! I really appreciate it!**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 9 - Future Plans

_by xMiaCarax_

**UNKNOWN POV**

It had been one and a half days after the burning had stopped that I first saw the black coats. There were three of them; a little boy with short brown hair, a girl with red curls and a male with black hair that looked like Mel Gibson in his younger years. All of them had bright crimson irises.

They did not interrupt us and stood still in the distance, watching us curiously. They watched as we set the city hall on fire. They watched as my brothers and sisters tortured the humans for pleasure. And they watched as we drank the blood of each and everyone of the village's citizens.  
Yet they did nothing.  
I wondered why they did not join in on our feast. My little sister, who was standing next to me, thought alike.

"I will spy on them" she told me, "I want to know why they are watching us instead of joining in or leaving."

"Be careful" I warned her, knowing she and I were probably not the only vampires with special abilities. "Maybe they are plotting something against us. I'd rather you don't go, Mara."

"And I'd rather you sod off" she replied cheekily and ran into the forest, in which the mysterious black coats were standing. I continued hunting but watched them from the distant. For about fourteen minutes, nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, I saw Mara in the middle of them, the black coats coming towards her. In milliseconds, they were on the ground, screaming in agony. I smirked, feeling proud of my little sister and her ability to inflict the illusion of pain. But the situation instantly turned around when thick black mist coming from the brown haired boy surrounded her and she fell to the floor, not moving.

_Was she dead?_

_Had they killed my sister?!_

I ran away in terror, as far as I could, hoping they would not see me. I finally reached my parents and tried to warn them, but they did not listen to me and continued torturing the humans. I ran to every member of my family, warning them of the eminent danger, but they did not listen. Nobody listened. And when the black coats finally started their attack on my family, I watched from behind a few bushes, praying they would not find me.  
And they did not.  
In a matter of one or two minutes they had collected every member of my family and surrounded them with the fatal black mist. Then, when they were unconscious (or dead, I did not know), they took them with them and disappeared. There was only one question on my mind:

Should I go after them?

I truly debated with myself, knowing I had to try and fight for them. But I knew it would be hopeless, and my parents would not want me to sacrifice myself in this way. So I stayed in my hideout until dawn and vowed to revenge my family, even if it was the last thing I ever did.

_The black coats would pay. They had not seen the last of me_!

**ARO POV**

It was nearing nine thirty in the morning and I was on my way to wake up my stunning mate Amber Rose Brown. I had spent the night in my study thinking about the situation of Amber's dead friend. She still seemed to have an interest to find her murderer and I had no doubts that if she started investigating, she would soon find that I was the culprit.  
_So what was I to do?_  
Amber knew about vampires and I knew from her thoughts that she knew that Phoebe's body had been emptied of blood. She would know that it had been one of the Volturi, and yes, I could tell her that one of the lower guards had done it, but still, she would hate the Volturi for it and her transformation date would be moved back a few months, if not years.  
Which was far from optimal.  
Which again led me to the question: what was I to do?  
I had consulted with Marcus, who had explained to me that her bond to her dead friend was still strong. He had told me specifically not to jump to any bad solutions and instead wait for the situation to resolve, but that was easier said than done. After all, this was my mate and if she found out, I was risking that her love for me would die!

I had reached the corridor that led to my room and told myself to keep calm. Hopefully, she would forget about her friend the way she would soon forget her family.  
I opened the door and found Amber sleeping on my bed peacefully inside. I sat down next to her and smirked. She was so beautiful! And she was _mine_!

"Amber, _sweetheart_, wake up" I whispered into her delicate ear and gave her a gentle kiss on her right cheek. Her eyes instantly opened, showing of her wonderful emerald irises. The second she noticed my presence, her mouth bursted into a surprised smile and she blushed.  
Oh, how I loved it when she blushed. She looked so fragile and so beautiful in that moment, like a doll. My pretty little doll.  
"Aro!" she exclaimed happily. "How late is it?"

"Nine thirty-three, _dear one_. We are expected to be in the throne room in twelve minutes. I suggest you get dressed."

She nodded and gave me a kiss. Her lips were warm on mine and I could feel the blood pulsating in her neck. Oh, she smelled so good! If it was not my mate, what would I have given for such a meal! But now, nothing seemed further away for me than the thought of drinking her blood, eventhough I had not hunted for six days now. I loved her. More than anything.

She nodded and disappeared into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash herself. Four minutes later, she closed the door of the bathroom behind her and left for the walk-in-closet, only to come out again two minutes later in a breathtaking black velvet dress and black ballerinas. She looked heart stopping.

"_Darling_, you look amazing" I complemented her and she smiled.

"Thank you, Aro. Although I do feel a little depressing wearing black only." She admitted and I hugged her.

"_Cara_, it is the color of the Volturi and you will get used to it. Of all the things you will have to give up that we will discuss today, this should be the least of a problem." I explained and gave her another kiss. "We should get going. I would hate to come late."

**AMBER POV**

We entered the corridor, which was long and built up like a maze. Every few meters, it would turn left or right or some stairs would lead us down. What was obviously build to keep unwanted visitors to leave early once inside, confused me and I was happy I had Aro with me to show me the way. He looked absolutely handsome this morning, wearing, just like the day before, a long black robe. His irises were still a dark shade of onyx, but I truly did not mind. As long as he did not kill me, I was content to see him not hunting as I knew human lifes would be spared. I wondered if I would manage to feed on humans once I was a vampire. But on the other hand, what would my other option be? Drinking from animals? Hell no. If I was to be a vampire, I would be a real vampire.

"_Cara_, have you made up your mind about the date yet?" Aro asked kindly and I shook my head.

"Not really. But that's why we're having the meeting in the first place, aren't we?" I demanded.

He smiled at me. "Not really. It is also for you to get to know my brothers and the Elite Guard a little better. But the date setting is also a big part of it."

"Fine, then" I stated and tried to get my mind of the meeting. I was going to be the fragile human in a room full of extremely strong and/or talented vampires, after all. I knew they were not going to hurt me, but still. I just hated being the odd one out.

We finally stopped infront of a huge pair of the heavy wooden doors that were so common here. Aro hugged me one last time and kissed me on my neck, just like yesterday.

"Try not to worry about it too much, _dear one_" He told me, and before I had time to reply, he opened the doors.

The first thing I noticed was that everybody was looking at us. Not only Caius and Marcus, who were, just like yesterday, sitting on their black and gold thrones, but also four other vampires in long black cloaks, from which I only knew Jane, the seemingly innocent vampire that had brought me here in the first place. And they were all staring at me expectantly as if I was supposed to say something or anything similar.

_Just perfect._

The second thing I noticed was that today, the sun was shining through the large windows and as a result, Caius and Marcus at the other end of the room were sparkling. _Thank God Aro told me about this!_ I thought, knowing I would have burst out laughing otherwise. It was absolutely beautiful, but somehow it was... disturbing.

The third thing I noticed was that Aro took my hand, looked me deep in the eyes, which made me forget all my anxiety for a complete, short moment, and walked further into the room with me. The doors closed behind us. It was completely silent.

It was that moment that something happened with me.

They said it was one thing to _know_ something, and another to _understand_, but another to _realize_. It was that moment when Aro and I walked towards the crimson eyed two disco ball-like co-rulers of the vampire world I should not even know about, that I understood.  
Of course I had known and understood (and accepted, too), that Aro was my mate and vampires existed and that I would take thousands of innocent lifes in the not-too-distant future, but it was that moment that I _realized_ that this would be my future. This was my fate. And my fate no longer included any happy endings.

I was no child anymore. My childhood was over.

I was a woman. A woman that was the mate of Aro Volturi.

And I was proud of it.

I noticed Aro give me an honest smile when I noticed that he was holding my hand, and by holding my hand, he could read my thoughts, and had just witnessed what had happened to me.

Not that I minded, really. At all.

Caius broke the silence. "Welcome back, Aro. As I see you have brought your mate with you. Is there any reason for this?"

"My dear brother, my mate has a name, and a very pretty one, Amber Rose Brown, and I have brought her here with me because I wished for her to officially meet the Elite Guard and I wanted to discuss a matter concerning her future with you." Aro explained calmly.

"What a lovely idea" Marcus spoke. "Amber, if you would like, I could show you your bonds after you have met the Elites."

I nodded. "Thank you, Marcus. I would very much like that."

"Splendid!" Aro interrupted our little conversation. "Now, Amber, let's get you officially introduced."

Aro took my arm and led me over to the left side of the room, where the Elite Guard was standing in a neat line.

"Jane, Chelsea, Demetri, Felix, this is my beautiful mate Amber" Aro explained, eyeing the Elites. Hadn't he said there were five of them?  
"Dear one, one member of the Elite Guard, Alec, is currently on a mission in Germany. You will be introduced once he is back." Aro said turning to me, as if he had read my thoughts. And he had.

"Pleasure to meet you!" A strawberry blond vampire told me. "I'm Chelsea. I think we'll be best friends."

"Yeah, I'm glad you finally showed up" a big, strong looking male joked just as I was about to answer to Chelsea. "Took yourself some time, didn't you? Three thousand years to be exact."

"Felix!" Aro hissed. "Such levels of disrespect against any member of the coven are not acceptable. Take this as a final warning."

"Yes Master" Felix said and looked at the ground.

"Now Amber I believe you are already acquainted with Jane, are you not?" Aro asked. I nodded, giving Jane a smile she politely replied. "Good. This-", he pointed at a very attractive male vampire with messy brown hair. "Is Demetri."

Demetri immediately stepped forward and kissed my hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms Brown."

"Oh, please, call me Amber" I suggested and he nodded agreeingly.

"Well Aro, now that you have introduced her to the Elite Guard, get down to business."  
"Just a minute, Caius" Marcus interrupted, "Before we get to discuss this matter regarding her future, I have promised to show her her bonds."

"Should we leave now, Master?" Little Jane asked.

"No, stay for just a minute more. I'm sure her bonds interest you, too." Marcus replied and all of the Elite Guard nodded in unison.

"Now Amber," Marcus began and stood up from his throne. "As you already know, the bond you share with Aro is the bond of soul mates. With Caius, it is a broken bond as he does not trust you and you do not trust him, but this shall change into a bond of siblings once you are turned. You are very much alike each other, you know, you simply have not noticed yet. As for me, I am like a father to you. From the Elite Guards, you have bonds with Jane and Chelsea, a bond of friendship, which, again, will intensify after your transformation. The same goes for you and Heidi."

"Do I have bonds to any other people?" I asked, a little surprised that he had not mentioned my family.

"You do" he answered. "With your parents, the normal bonds children have with their parents, with your sister, a bond of siblings, and to your dead friend, I believe her name is Phoebe, a bond of friendship and loyalty."

I gulped at the sound of her name. Aro noticed and instantly embraced me, letting me forget all my sorrows in his beautiful, cold arms. Meanwhile, Marcus sat back down.

"You may go now" Aro said coldly, facing the Elites. Instantly, they were gone and the door closed behind them.

"So Aro" Caius spoke up. "What is this matter you wish to speak to us about?"

"You could have guessed it, brother." Aro stated, "It is her transformation."

"Have you told her about it?" came back Caius's reply.

"Just a few hours ago."

"And have you settled on a date?" Marcus demanded.

"Not yet," Aro said. "That is why we are here."

Caius smirked. "Well, what is there to discuss?" He turned to me. "When do you want to be turned?"

"I- I am not sure." I answered. He snorted.

"Well, I am sure we can agree that she should be changed rather now than later." Caius elaborated, staring at me the entire time. "She is pushing our self control to the limit, and as long as she is human, she is a liability. I think we should turn her at some point in the next two weeks."

Two weeks?

"I disagree, brother" said Marcus, shooting me a friendly smile. "She should be able to choose herself. This decision affects her and her only, after all."

"And that is where you are wrong, Marcus" I heard a familiar, beautiful voice next to me say. "It affects everybody if she is to stay human for some time. When other covens come to visit, we will have to take precautions. We will need to hunt more often. Gianna will need to work more, doing secretary work and arranging her meals. Believe me, it affects everybody in the castle."

"Amber, is there anything you need to do while you are still human?" Marcus asked. All of a sudden, all eyes were back on me.

"I- I... Aro said I could talk to my family one last time." I said. Marcus nodded.

"That should be of no problem, _cara_." Marcus replied. "We will just have to come up with a story."

"How about she found some boy here in Italy and now wants to stay with him? Its not even necessarily lying." Caius suggested.

I sighed, knowing it would take all my willpower to not tell my family the truth when I phoned them. On the other hand, I was lucky I had this opportunity.

"Yes, that's a good idea. I'll just have to convince them not to come looking for me."

Caius smirked. "So what even if they did? I do not know your family, but I do think it is safe to say that they will not outsmart the Volturi."

Aro turned back to me. "Anything else, _darling_?"

"I am not sure" I replied. "What I definetely want to do is find Phoebe's murderer, but I should do that as a vampire, probably, considering that I will have super strength and the ability to run quicker than any human ever could." I stared over to Marcus and Caius, who were still sparkling. "And I would like to spend some time in the sun."

"That can be easily arranged" Marcus said. "However, take my fatherly advice when I tell you that you should forget about your friend. In your future life you will experience many deaths and if you always go after the murderer, you will find yourself in trouble."

"Brother, whatever do you mean!" Caius hissed. "Haven't we always appreciated it when members or soon-to-be-members of the Guard have enforced the law without orders?"

"Calm yourself, brother. We should continue this discussion once the matter is actually on hand." Aro suggested, and Marcus shot Aro a thankful look.

"Fine" Caius gave in. "But this discussion is not over."

"We should settle on a date" Marcus suggested. Caius nodded.

"I say we turn her in three days. It will leave her with enough time to do whatever she wants to do as a human." He suggested.

"Two weeks. I say we give her some time." Marcus said.

"I say-" Aro began, but he was cut off when the door opened and Gianna, the secretary, came in.

"I am terribly sorry to disturb, Masters, but Alec, Corin and Afton have returned from their mission and have brought eleven German newborns with them that are accused of breaking the laws of exposure to humans and immortal children." She said, trembling with fear.

Aro turned to me. "_Cara_, we will have to postpone this discussion to another date. Heidi and Jane will take you to your room. I will be there once everything is settled."

I nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too. Jane! Heidi!" he called and in a matter of five seconds they were standing next to me.

"Yes, Master?" Jane asked.

"Take Amber to her room and keep her some company." He ordered.

"Yes Master" both said synchronically.

"Let's go" Jane told me and I nodded.

The heavy wooden doors closed behind us and we heard the panicked screams of the newborns when we made our way down the corridor in silence.

**Sorry for taking so long to update, but I really had to figure out where the story is going. Also, I know this wasn't the most interesting chapter, but the Germans will play a big role in the future, so it was necessary to introduce them this way.  
Considering I have holidays, I'll try to update at least every two days, but I can't make any promises.  
Thank you for taking the time to read this story! It really means a lot to me!**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10: A Walk With The Lover

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Again, Twilight belongs to Ms Meyer, I only own the characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot.  
My apologies in advance, this chapter will be kind of a filler chapter. But, I promise, after this chapter, things will start to get interesting.  
I got a PM yesterday asking if the Cullens were going to appear in the story at some point. Let me just clarify this: NO! This is a Volturi Aro/OC FanFiction, deal with it.**

**Thanks to all my followers, favs and reviewers. You make my day!**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 10 - A Walk with The Lover

_by xMiaCarax_

**AMBER POV**

We reached Aro's room after a few minutes of walking through the never ending corridors at Volturi Castle. After Heidi opened the door, I instantly ran towards the king-sized, fluffy bed and let myself fall into it. I looked over to my guards and noticed that they were staring at me in a confused way.

"No, I am not tired" I clarified. "I am just a little exhausted, that's all."

"Well, I can't blame you for that" I heard Jane reply from the other end of the room. "I would have died of anxiety if I'd been you. I mean, they were staring at you, like, the entire time!"

I chuckled. "Who says I didn't?"

They giggled for a short moment, but then all there was was a weird silence, as if they didn't know what to say. It was exactly the kind of silence I hated more than anything. I had experienced it too often already in my first life, my life before Volterra, which seemed so unreal to me now, eventhough it had stopped only two days ago.  
At boarding school, I had tried desperately to make at least one friend. I thought that if I just had an open, honest talk with someone, and they shared my views on things, we would continue talking, making it a regular thing, until at some point, we would ask each other how we had actually gotten to know each other. Well, to make a long story short, my strategy didn't work. At all. Nobody shared my views on things; nobody understood why I read in my freetime, why I wasn't in any sports team or a clique. Way too often had I started the conversation talking about a book I'd recently read and recommended and they had stared at me like I had just told them that the apocalypse was happening today. And then there always was this silence.  
Well, I wasn't having it again.

"Jane? Heidi?" I asked.

"Yes, Amber?" Heidi answered. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Actually," I began. "I was just wondering if we could, you know... be friends? I mean, if we are going to spend an eternity with each other, we shouldn't be having these strange silences and stuff. So, what do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea" said Heidi, sounding enthusiastic. "I mean, I tried to get you killed, and so did Jane, but that's not a reason we can't be friends!

"Exactly! And its not like I'm going to be human much longer." I said. Heidi nodded and in a second, she was sitting next to me on the bed.

"I think we're going to get along just fine." She stated. "What about you, Jane?"

I turned around, facing Jane. She was still next to the door, her expression apathetic, her irises pitch black. From the way she stared back at me, I knew she hadn't hunted in a while.

"Jane, go hunt." Heidi ordered, clearly reading my thoughts. "Put yourself out of your agony."

"You are not in a position to give me orders, Heidi" Jane snapped back. "And Master Aro expects me to watch over the girl. Besides, who guarantees me you will not harm her?"

"Jane, come on. You've known me for over a thousand years now and I have never fed of a human I was supposed to keep safe." She smirked. "In contrast to you. Remember that little girl, Sara, back in 1572? Oh, come on, don't give me that look. We both know it was you. Don't make such a big deal out of this. The earlier you leave, the earlier you'll be back. And I'm sure Aro would rather have only one guard with her for a few couple of minutes than watch one of her guards feed from her."

Jane stared at Heidi and me blankly for a few seconds, and then suddenly, without a word, she was gone.

"What's the deal with her?" I asked, annoyed. Heidi grinned.

"You'll get used to it. It's just the way she is." She informed me. "Although she will eventually warm up after she gets to know you better. She just doesn't like humans, and she especially doesn't like them when she's thirsty."

"Does she have a mate?" I regretted the question the second it had left my lips.

Heidi smiled. My, was she beautiful. The kind of beauty you would do anything for, even die. Was that her power? Was that why she provided the humans for the feasts? "No. But I'm sure she'll eventually find one, after all, it took Aro three thousand years to find you."

"About that" I continued. "He's really three thousand years old?"

She nodded. "I know, he doesn't look it, right? You're a very lucky girl, Amber." She gave me a cheeky grin and I froze. Did she...and Aro...? I mean, it was an obvious combination. Him, the most powerful of vampires, and her, the most beautiful one.  
She must have seen the shock on my face and gave me a reassuring pat on my shoulder.

"Don't you worry, Amber. I've never had any serious interest in him, nor had he in me. Besides, he's only ever had one girlfriend before."

"What?!" I jumped up. "One girlfriend in three thousand years? How does that work?"

She grinned. "Well, maybe girlfriend is not the correct term. You know, he had a wife."

"I thought I was his mate!" I noted, confused.

"Oh, but you are. He only married her because he wanted to spare himself the search for his real mate, which is probably why he's only found you now. You know, I believe in rebirth, and you were born again and again until you finally found him. Anyways, Sulpicia was attacked in 1963 by a member of the Romanian Coven, who, by the way, is the coven that ruled before the Volturi did. About 1000 BC we finally took over, and since then, they've been trying to regain their power by overthrowing us. Well, after a while they got frustrated, so they decided to kill the mates, and in that year, they got Sulpicia."

"But she wasn't his mate."

"Exactly." Heidi said. "Believe me, Amber, if any vampire loses his mate, it's... tragic. They can't live their lifes normally again, but can't commit suicide, either. They are forced into eternally griefing for their mates."

"Is that why Marcus is so...?"

"Such a clever girl!" Heidi smiled. "His mate was Aro's sister, Didyme. Got killed the same Sulpicia was killed, only that she was really Marcus's mate."

"Oh."

"Yes, _oh_, indeed."

"Do you think I'll be...?" I asked uncertainly, my voice shaking.

Heidi sighed. "Seriously, girl, you think too much. Not even turned yet, and already wondering if one day in a thousand years or such, she'll be murdered." She hugged me. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, but you really need to relax. Besides, after Sulpicia, Aro will definetely make precautions."

"No hard feelings" I told her and smiled.

"I really like you, Amber. Prepare to spend lots of time with me once you're turned." She told me.

I giggled. "If Aro lets me go."

Heidi had just opened her pretty little mouth to reply when the doors flew open and a crimson eyed Jane entered.

"Better?" Heidi asked politely.

"Much better." Jane answered, a big smile on her childish, yet extremely beautiful pale face. In milliseconds, she was sitting on the other side of me.

"Sorry 'bout earlier" she said, studying my surprised expression. "I'm always a pain when I'm thirsty."

"No offense taken" I replied. "So, what do you think about the offer I made you a few minutes ago...?"

"Gladly accepted" she told me. I immediately relaxed, having assumed she would hate me for eternity. "So, tell me your story. I mean, I hardly know you, friend."

I sighed. "My life story is really not that interesting, but if you want to know... I was born and grew up in a small town in England, Kingsbridge. I went to kindergarden and school there, too. No friends. Always have been an outsider. Other kids never liked me because I took no interest in the things they found interesting. I was never the fairy princess kind of girl, I always prefered reading and playing piano. I teached myself to read and write when I was five. I guess I've never stopped reading since then. My parents separated when I was eight, but got back together because my Mom was pregnant with my sister. They named her Ruby because I was named after a color and they wanted our names to be similar. At that time there was a new girl at school, Phoebe Evans. She loved books, like me, and we were immediately best friends. I was sent away to a boarding school near London when I was ten, but we talked on the phone every day. The kids at boarding school were always mean to me, but I always had Phoebe to talk to, and that really helped me.  
Anyways, the days I spent at boarding school always seemed like a waste of time to me because I was always alone, and I was always looking forward to the summer holidays, when we're aloud to go home. But this year, just after I came home, I got a call from her that she won some kind of History Contest and that she was going to Italy and could take one person with her. Well, I accepted, we got to Volterra... you know the rest." I finished the story of my life and saw Heidi staring at me as if she had seen a ghost.

"Heidi? Is anything the matter?" I asked her.

She sighed and took my hand. "I'm gonna come clean. You know it's my job to find humans for the feedings, right?" I nodded. "Good. You know, most of them don't even know they're in Italy. I make up some job offer or a concert or something and tell them they're going to France or England or the Netherlands. They only know what's happening to them when the doors of the feeding room are closed behind them. And I... I don't know how to say this because I know you'll hate me, but you deserve to know, that.."

"Let me guess" I interrupted. "You made the History Contest Phoebe won up."

"Yes."

"And she didn't really win and all the others that tried out '_won_', too."

"Yes."

"And now you think I'm going to hate you because indirectly, by bringing me and her here, you have caused her death. Am I correct?"

Heidi continued staring at her feet and sighed. "Do you hate me?"

I embraced Heidi and gave her a big, honest smile. "Stop staring at your feet! And of course I'm _not_ angry at you. I mean, it's your job, and it wasn't you that really killed her, right?" She shook her head. "And by the way, if you hadn't brought us here, I would have never found Aro."

"_Touché_" stated Jane. "You know, Amber, you're different from all of us in a way, and I don't mean that you're human. All of us have had a dramatic human life, and would have probably died young. For instance, my brother and I were burned at the stake, but Aro came, turned us and then destroyed the entire village because they'd seen."

"I was a servant, but the Master of the House would always beat me up because the male servants would always lose their concentration when I was in a room with them, eventhough it wasn't really my fault. One day, a vampire named Hilda came along and asked me if I wanted a new life. She turned me and I lived with her coven until the Volturi accused us of exposing our kind to humans. Everybody but me and Victoria were executed; I joined them, and she ran. I believe she is still fugitive today." Heidi stated casually.

"Well, I guess it's not a bad thing" I said. "My life was not dramatic, just plain boring and senseless. This is like a second life to me, a more exciting one. I don't know how to explain it, but... I feel at home here."

"Well, I guess you're just lucky then" Jane teased. "Oh, I love happy endings! They are so rare..."

All of a sudden, the door opened, and in came my beautiful mate, Aro Volturi.

"Hello, dear one" he told me and gave me a passionate kiss. I blushed, embarassed that my friends were watching.

Like always, Aro pulled away before too long and gave me his heartwarming, crooked smile.

"You may leave us now" he told Jane and Heidi. They nodded, waved me goodbye and left too quickly for me, the human, to see.

"Well, well, well" I said when I heard the door close behind them. "What have you been up to?"

He smirked. "I just wanted to ask you exactly the same thing."

"You first." I ordered. He nodded.

"Alec, Corin and Afton were on a mission in Germany to discover new talents." Aro began.  
"But on their way through the country they found a total of eleven newborns that were killing an entire village recklessly. Alec numbed them and brought them back with them immediately. They broke the laws of exposure to humans, and they have broken the law of immortal children, which states that no child under the age of twelve can become a vampire, because they cannot control themselves. Under the eleven vampires, there were four of those children. We had all of the newborns executed for their crimes, eventhough the oldest immortal child, eleven years, put up a fight. She had the same gift as Jane, but eventually we got hold of her." He stopped and gave me another kiss. Then, he continued. "I know from their thoughts that one of them is still in Germany. She seems to be the smartest of them, because she was the only one who noticed the danger and hid. I also know that she has the gift to cover up her traces. I still have to discuss with my brother wether we should kill her, make her join the guard or leave her be to spread the word. What do you think?"

"I think" I said. "That while I am honored you want to hear my opinion, you should not listen to your mate's advice on such important matters because she does not yet know the consequences of her suggestions."

"And I think that you think too much for your own good, cara."

I chuckled. "You know, that's the second time I'm hearing that today."

"Heidi?" He asked.

I nodded.

"So what did you do while I watched an eleven year-old torture my guards?"

"Well, I was here with Jane and Heidi. At first it was really depressing, because we only had this awkward small talk. At one point I had enough and figured that if we're going to spend forever together, we might as well be friends. They accepted my invitation and we just talked the entire time."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked.

"I sure did" I replied and he embraced me.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

I smiled. "Why, of course!"

He took my hand. "Let's go then. Has anyone taken you to the gardens yet?"

"What Gardens?"

He chuckled. "You are going to love this."

**UNKNOWN POV**

Turns out traveling has its good side.

I'd been running non-stop since I'd left my hideout, and by sunlight the next day, I was in Romania. It was then that I made my first stop, to hunt.  
It also turns out I was not the only vampire in Romania.

There were two of them, and they had crimson eyes with a milky glaze. At first, they had wanted to attack me, but when I had told them my story, they seemed very interested. Their names were Vladimir and Stefan, and they knew the black coats I had been talking about.

"So you want revenge for them killing your family?" Stefan asked.

I nodded.

"We can help you there."

**ARO POV**

Amber's expression when she first saw the gardens was priceless. Her pretty little mouth was opened wide in surprise; her eyes lit up with excitement and happiness. She turned to me, her cheeks slightly read as she noticed I had watched her.

"Oh, Aro, this is breathtaking!" she told me and I smiled. She was so beautiful when she was happy.

"Who did this?" she asked me. Here it goes, I thought.

"Actually, it has been my hobby ever since... ever since..." How was I going to tell her this? '_Oh, dear one, by the way, I had a wife but she was violently ripped apart fifty years ago. Nothing to worry about. Do you like the roses?_'

"Ever since Sulpicia died?" she finished my sentence. To say I was surprised would be the understatement of the century.

She noticed my surprise and grinned. "Heidi" she explained. "But don't punish her. I asked her to tell me."

"What exactly did she tell you?" I demanded, hoping Heidi had not given her some '_improved_' version of the story.

"That you married her because you did not want to search for me" She began. Was she angry at me? "And that she was killed in 1963 by the Romanians because they know that a vampire is not the same without his mate."

_I'll have to give my thanks to Heidi for telling her this_, I thought, _Sulpicia-talk would have really killed the mood._

"And are you angry at me?" I asked, my voice sounding a little to anxious.

"Why should I be? Should I blame you for having one girlfriend in three thousand years? How jealous do you think I am?" she chuckled.

I realized then that Amber was the perfect woman for me: beautiful, smart, humorous, but logical.

"Aro?" she demanded.

"Yes? Is there anything, _darling_?"

"Well, it's just that I've had a lot of time to think when you were gone, and..." she sighed. "Caius was right. Give me three days. It'll be enough time and I can call my parents tomorrow. Delaying any longer is just delaying the inevitable."

Truly, that was the last thing I had expected to hear from her.

"Aro? Did I upset you?" She worried, obviously noticing my surprise.

"Quite the contrary, dear, quite the contrary" I reassured Amber. "You have simply surprised me. I had thought you would want more time."

"But why would I?" she admitted. "I love it here. I have you. I have Jane, I have Heidi. I'm happy."

Oh, the way she made me feel.

**AMBER POV**

The way Aro stared at me after my confession made me feel like the most loved person in the history of the world.

"I love you, Amber Rose Brown, more than anything" he told me. "Forever."

"I love you, too, Aro. Forever." I repeated.

"Are you sure?" He asked me. "Once you've decided, there's not turning back."

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life." I said, knowing it was the truth.

He stared at me for a long time, and we just looked each other in the eyes in silence. Then, without warning, he was on his knees before me, a small blue velvet box in his hands.

My eyes widened in realization. He, the king of all vampires, was proposing to me, the girl that had been known by the nickname 'fat freak' at boarding school!

"A- Aro!" I managed to say, my voice trembling. "I- I'm just fourteen-"

He chuckled. "I'm the king of the vampires, Amber, do you really think I care about human marriage laws?"

I shook my head, laughing. Oh God, I was in tears. Tears of happiness.

"Amber Rose Brown" he began, and I cried. He gave me a teasing look and smiled. I was in love with this man! Who cared if he was a soulless monster!

"I love you more than my life" he continued. "And I always will. You are my everything. Therefore, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"  
"Yes!" I screamed. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He grinned, then he stood up and we kissed passionately.

"This is your ring" he told me and pulled out a beautiful silver ring that was covered in white diamonds. In the middle, there was a big, rectangular diamond that was casting violet and magenta rays of light in all directions.

"Oh, Aro! This is so beautiful!" I cried. He smiled and put it on my ring finger. "Almost as beautiful as you."

**Okay, I know this was really cheesy, but I needed some romance between them for the next chapters. Let me know what you think, anyway.  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! IT ALWAYS MAKES MY DAY! CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM WELCOME!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Visitor & The Victim

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Again, Twilight belongs to Ms Meyer, I only own the characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot.  
Sorry about the link at the end of the chapter, I'm posting the picture of Amber's ring on my profile.  
This chapter is dedicated to my followers Bumblebee's Honey , Edwardstempest, Hermione Voldemort Riddle, Wersa12345, eternaldance22, mkakashi1993 and xXFallen-Angel-Of-DarknessXx.  
If you want a dedication, leave a review!**

**Thanks to all my followers, favs and reviewers. You make my day!**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 11 - The Visitor, the Victim & the Girl that seeked Revenge

_By xMiaCarax_

**AMBER POV**

There are moments in life that are complete and perfect enough to make up for all the bad things that have ever happened; every bad decision I had made, all the times I had sat in my room crying after kids had teased me at school, every time Mom and Dad had screamed at each other, and, most important of all, Phoebe's death. These things had hindered me from finding happiness, but this moment made me feel so loved that they did not matter anymore.

To quote a book I had once read, _I was infinite_.

"_Darling_, you have no idea how happy you make me" Aro whispered into my right ear. "In a few days, our time together forever will finally begin."

"Even the thought of that makes me want to die from happiness." I confessed, knowing he would give me one of his heartwarming smiles in return. And he did, making my heart melt into a hot, passionate mess.

"Please refrain from that. Your death only three days before your transformation would be most unfortunate, you know." He joked.

"Indeed" I agreed. "Although in that case, I'm sure you'd care less about the date we have set."

He nodded. "And I am positive that in such situations, you would not mind the least that I was breaking my promise."

"No, I would not. However, I would hope that Alec was somewhere near, for I would not like to find myself screaming at the top of my lungs in agony."

"However you surely agree that preventing your death is more important than those three days in agony. Although I must confess I would not like you to be in excruciable pain, either."

"What a romantic way to say I love you. '_Darling, I don't know how to tell you this, but... I don't want you to be in excruciable pain.' 'Oh, dear one, I don't want you to scream at the top of your lungs in agony, either.' _"

Aro chuckled. "I love the way we can just argue on and on like this."

I nodded. "So do I. By the way, I'm hungry. Can you organize me some food and water?"

He stared at me as if he had forgotten something very important... and he had. "_Cara_, forgive me. I'm not used to having humans here, and I... I'm terribly sorry."

Aro looked around the gardens, his gaze stopping right behind a big oak tree. "Jane!" he called out and I blushed, well aware that she had heard everything. "I know you're there, so come out."  
Jane obeyed, making her way from behind the tree to us too quickly for me to see.

"Forgive me, Master. Caius sent for you, but I did not want to ruin the moment." she explained herself. Aro's answer came immediately.

"Don't ask for my forgiveness, Jane, ask for my fiancée's. After all, this was a very special moment for her, too." Gosh, I loved the way his lips turned into a smile when he pronounced the 'fiancée'-part.

Jane sighed. "Sorry, Amber. I really didn't mean to pry or anything, as I said, I just did not want to ruin the moment."

This was ridiculous. Why did Jane have to apologize to me for anything? She was my friend, after all. So she had heard how Aro proposed to me... big deal.

"Don't worry about it" I told her and she gave me her Botticelli-angel-smile. Then she turned to Aro. "Caius and Marcus are waiting in the throne room for you to discuss the fate of the twelfth newborn. And I believe I heard some screams in the dungeons today. Also, Gianna has received a letter for you. If I might make a suggestion, go to the throne room and help your brothers. You will probably not be back by morning, and I will take care of Amber and make her some food."

Aro stared at Jane, then at me, then back to Jane. "You seem to have quite an intact friendship." He noted. Jane and I nodded synchronically. "Amber and Heidi and me" Jane informed him, "are best friends now."  
He smiled. "Then I trust that you two will have a nice evening together" he said and I could hear the slightest bit of jealousy in his voice. Instantly, I knew that he had planned for the evening to end a lot differently. But then again, we would have an eternity of evenings to spend time together in future.

I gave him a gentle kiss and pulled away before we would get to a point where I would be embarassed because my best friend was standing next to me.

"I love you, _cara_. I will be with you the second I am finished, I promise you that." He told me. The next second, he was gone.

"I can't believe you're engaged!" Jane cried out excitedly next to me. "I mean, you've only known each other for a day!"

"I know, right? It's weird, but... it feels like I've known him forever. And I literally want nothing else than to be with him."

"Oh, the mating bond. How I envy you for it." Jane said. "I've never even had a boyfriend! Everybody's just scared of me because of my power."

"Don't you worry. I mean, _every_ vampire has a mate." I suggested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighed. "Now let's go to your room! I'm sure Heidi is _dying_ to know what happened!"

"As long as we pick up some food on the way. Seriously, I did not eat or drink in twenty-four hours."

"Fine" she nodded. "I'll get Gianna to cook you something. Now let's go!"

**ARO POV**

"You did _what_?!" Caius hissed.

"I proposed to her" I repeated. "Amber is now my fiancée."

"You don't even know her for two days and you ask her to marry you?! Did you drink animal blood or something?" He scolded.

"Caius, please. You of all people should know what effect the mating bond has on vampires." Marcus said and Caius sighed, remembering how he had killed all the inhabitants of the monestry Thena had wanted to go to without cause, only so she would consider Caius's offer of '_traveling together_'. She had accepted and Caius had turned her the first chance he got. "We should be happy that Amber felt the love for Aro so quickly. You and Athenodora took a decade to get used to each other."

"Well, of course she is in love with him. He's good-looking, polite and powerful. On top of that, he told her our secret and now she feels privileged because she's allowed to know. But what he's doing is against our own laws. Law Number 1: _No human is to know of the existence of vampires, and, if so, is to be eliminated or turned immediately._" Caius recited. "You should have bit her the second she stepped into the throne room."

"Brother" I interrupted. "Only because it's what _you_ did with Thena doesn't mean it's what _I_ do with Amber. And what about the humans we keep as secretaries? They are, too, against the law, and if I remember right, it was _your_ idea. Besides, she is not going to have the opportunity to spread the word that we exist before her transformation, which, by the way, will be, like you have suggested, in three days."

That caught both my brothers off guard. "What wonderful news." Marcus said.

"I agree. How did you get her to agree to a date that early, brother? She seemed quite, well, let's say... _unsure_ of herself this morning. Surely she originally wanted more time? A month or so?" Caius asked, suddenly interested.

"Actually, I did not even bring the topic up. We were just walking around in the gardens, when she told me she had made her mind up and did not want to wait any longer than three days." I told them. Their faces showed extreme and utter disbelieve.

"Well, did she tell you a reason?" Caius demanded.

"She did. She said that waiting any longer was just putting off the inevitable, and that she was very happy here with me, Jane and Heidi. They are best friends, just as you have predicted, brother." I explained, looking at Marcus.

"I am already looking forward to seeing her as a vampire, eventhough she will probably not be gifted, it will be a change to not thirst for her blood." Marcus commented.

"Let us pray that she is not gifted" I whispered, quiet but loud enough for any vampire in a one hundred meter radius to hear. Two sets of undead eyes stared at me, their expression unbelieving.

"Did you just say what I _think_ you said, brother?" Caius hissed. "Isn't it you who is always hoping to find new talents?"

"Caius, Aro is merely hoping that Amber will not have one specific ability." Marcus pointed out, obviously understanding my point.

"Tell me."

**GIANNA POV**

Jane, Heidi and the other human were sitting casually on the bed in Master Aro's room when I opened the door to bring the girl her food. To my surprise, she was dressed in a black dress similar to Jane's. Every once in a while, there was another human in the castle, but that was only for entertainment or because the Masters were interested in the human's abilities. Never ever did they allow humans to wear black like the vampires. Even I, who was working here since three weeks, had to run around in red, the color of humans.  
Somehow, I was intrigued by her. She was young, very young, actually, just a few years older than Jane, concerning physical appearance. Fourteen, maybe? And she was just _hanging out_ with Jane, the girl that didn't even say hello to anybody but the Masters and the Elites, the girl that had sworn to _despise humans forever_ after she had woken up to her new life back in 800?  
_Just what was going on here?_

"Oh, thank you" she told me shyly when I brought her her food. She was young, she was dressed in black, she was human, and, to top it all of, she was _shy_?! _What the f- was going on here?_

"Are you Gianna?" she asked. I nodded. "Thank you, Gianna" she told me, then she turned around and continued her conversation with the two vampires.

"It was really romantic, and all. He actually got down on his knees."

"I can't believe it!" Heidi told her excitedly. "I can't believe he's finally found his mate after three thousand years and now you're engaged!"

She's engaged to one of the vampires here? _Seriously_? She's not even that pretty! Who would want to spend forever with her?! Someone who is three thousand years old. Aren't there only three vampires here that are that old? Caius, Marcus and...

"You're engaged to _Aro_?" I asked, instantly wanting to disappear into thin air when three pairs of annoyed eyes stared back at me.

"You still here?" Jane asked, and I knew she was angry at me.

"I- I'm sorry" I stammered.

"Get out of here before I _really_ make you feel sorry." She threatened and I ran out of the room, closing the door behind me. The last thing I needed today was to be tortured by Jane.

**ARO POV**

"So basically, you're afraid she'll have an ability that will make her find out that you killed her friend." Caius said.

"Yes."

"Come on, Aro. This is ridiculous. First of all, if she had a talent like that, we would have noticed. And second, if you're really that scared, just tell her. At least you were honest with her in that way. If there is one thing that women hate, and I speak out of experience, it is when they find out you kept information from-"

Suddenly, the doors flew open and my mind was, from one second to another, completely occupied by the smell of blood, a little too sweet for my taste, but still enough to push my self control to the limit. I'd have to go hunting some time soon, but the memory of my last hunting trip and its consequences still sent chills down my back.

"Masters" Gianna said. "I apologize for interrupting, but I have a letter for Master Aro."  
She looked me in the eyes and walked straight towards my throne. I stood up once she had reached her destination and took the letter from her, examining its contents.

_My dearest Aro,_

_My beloved Carmen and I are going on a journey around Europe and plan to stay with you and your coven for one or two weeks. Unless you inform us that this is not possible, we will arrive in Volterra by Thursday, the eighth of July._

_Yours faithfully,  
Eleazar._

"Eleazar and Carmen are coming to stay with us for one or two weeks!" I exclaimed.

"What perfect timing! He will surely be able to put an end to your worrying about Amber's abilities." Caius suggested. "When will they arrive?"

"Why, Thursday the eighth of July... isn't that _today_?" I realized. _Damnit Gianna! First you dazzle me with your smell, then you disturb us and then you do not manage to give me relevant information on time!_

"Explain yourself, Gianna." Caius told her and his voice was dead serious.

"I..I- I only found it on my desk this morning." She stammered.

"Pathetic! Felix. Demetri." He ordered, a sadistic smile on his face. Instantly, the human in the red dress was cornered by the two vampires. Realizing what was about to happen, Gianna let out a desperate scream for help.

"No. No! Please! PLEASE! I'll do anything, just don't... No! NO! HELP!"

Caius slowly walked towards her, his expression alike one of a child at christmas. "Remember this, girl..." he started, speaking very slowly and clearly, obviously enjoying himself. "_The Volturi do not offer second chances._"  
He gave an approving nod to Felix and Demetri, who bit down on both sides of her pretty little neck. She started crying out in pain and disapproval, but soon, the screams died down, and with them did she.

**UNKNOWN POV**

"Did the Volturi kill my family?" I asked Vladimir after we had returned from our hunt.

"It is most probable, so yes. They kill anybody who breaks their laws, did I not tell you, girl?" He responded. "Your family will not be an exception. _Nobody_ was ever an exception and they've ruled for over two thousand years now. _The Volturi do not offer second chances_. It's their unofficial slogan."

I sighed. "What can I do?"

He smiled. "That depends entirely on if you are willing to die for your revenge or you want to get away with it."

"And if I want to get away with it?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

**ARO POV**

Only seconds after Felix and Demetri had dragged Gianna's lifeless body out of the room, the door opened yet again, and in came Eleazar and his mate, Carmen. I still remembered Eleazar; after all, he had been a member of our guard until three decades ago. I had never seen his mate before, though. Carmen had long, brunette curls, full lips and a slim nose. Indeed, she was a beauty, and even a fool could see what a perfect couple they were. But what irritated me was that both had the amber eyes of '_vegetarian_' vampires. After all, Eleazar had been one of the vampires in the guard that took pleasure in hunting humans even if they did not need to.

"My dear Eleazar!" I greeted and stood up from my throne. "It is so good to see you in these walls again. And your mate too!" I turned to the woman. "Carmen, is it?"

She nodded. "Thank you for having us, Aro."

"Oh, the pleasure is mine" I assured them. "Although I must apologize; our secretary only gave me your letter a few minutes ago, therefore we did not have enough time to get your old room ready for you. We had her... _dealt with_."

"That's terrible!" Carmen responded. "How can you take a life for such a minor thing?"

I instantly knew we would have problems with this one.

"The way we treat our secretaries is not your concern, young Carmen." Caius scolded her. "It would perhaps do you good to mind your own business."

"How dare you...!" Carmen threatened. Instantly, Eleazar was holding and consoling her.

"_Darling_, Caius is right. Besides, you can't save every human. Not every vampire is as... _understanding_ as we are."

While Carmen was trying to get back to calm in Eleazar's arms, he shot me a look that made me pity him instantly. _Look at me!_ the look said, _I have to feast on animals because of this woman!_

What a good thing Amber understood my needs when it came to blood!

"Eleazar, would you do me a favor?" I asked him straight forward. "I have a human in my castle, who I am planning to turn in a few days time. I would like to find out if she has any abilities. Corin, Renata and Chelsea will set up your room in the meantime."  
While the three vampire women hurried off, Eleazar nodded. "Although I cannot promise you that I can see it if she is human."

"I know, I know. I would be delighted if you would try, nevertheless."

"Just out of curiosity, who is this girl? If you have brought her here, you must surely have done so because of an obvious gift."

"No, no. Quite the contrary" I assured him. "Amber is my mate."

I saw the surprise in both of their expressions. "That is truly wonderful, Aro. I am delighted for you." Carmen told me.

"Well, bring her forth, then!" Eleazar ordered. Unsure wether they should obey his orders or not, Santiago and Alec gave me an unsure look. I gave them a nod and they sped off.

"Now Aro, tell me, how has life been?"

**AMBER POV**

"So, Amber, did you think about what designer you want your wedding dress from?" Heidi asked. I chuckled.

"Heidi, seriously! I don't even know _when_ or _where_ I'm getting married. How should I know _what dress_ I want already?"

"She has a point, you know." Jane agreed with me. "Although I think that Alexander Wang would be a good choice."

"Alexander _what_?"

She grinned. "Oh, you'll know soon enough."

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. "Master Aro is requesting Amber's presence in the throne room at once." I heard Alec inform me at the other side of the door.

"Fine." I said, standing up. Heidi sped forward and opened the door for me. Both Alec and a brazilian looking vampire were waiting outside.

"What does he want?" I demanded.

"We have a visitor, Eleazar. He used to be a Volturi Guard, too. He came here with his mate, Carmen. Eleazar has the ability to see the talents a vampire has, and, very seldomly, what ability a certain human would have as a vampire." The brazilian vampire informed me. "By the way, I'm Santiago."

"Amber."

"Let's go, then."

Jane, Heidi, Alec, Santiago and I reached the throne room only two minutes later. A large, black haired, russian-looking vampire and a small, yet beautiful brown haired vampire woman were standing in the middle of the room, while, as usual, Aro, Marcus and Caius were sat on their thrones. Just like this morning, all eyes turned on me once I entered the room. I needed to get used to this.

"Ah, there she is" the black haired one said as if we were old friends. "I'm Eleazar, and this is my mate, Carmen."

"Amber." I introduced myself. He nodded.

"I trust you have heard of my gift?"

"Santiago just told me about it."

"Good. Now, my gift works just like Aro's, by physical contact. So, if you would give me your hand..."

I blushed and stretched out my harm in his direction. Sure enough, he took it. As my skin touched his, his eyes closed in concentration. Seconds later, they opened up again.

"Well?" Caius asked impatiently. "Is she gifted or not?"

I stared at Eleazar, his expression a perfect pokerface. What would it be? Super strength like Felix? Tracking like Demetri? Torture like Jane?  
Finally, he spoke up.

"Your mate" he said. "Has complete control over the mind."

**Okay, hope you liked it. If you did, PLEASE REVIEW! It always makes my day!  
Oh, and by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Truth

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: Again, Twilight belongs to Ms Meyer, I only own the characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot.  
Dedicated to Wersa12345 for being my second ever reviewer. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Thanks again to all my followers, favs and favorites! You make my day!**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 12 - The Truth

_by xMiaCarax_

_"A harmful truth is better than a useful lie"_

_-Thomas Mann._

**ARO POV**

Complete control over the mind.  
Just the word _mind_ in context with Amber's gift sent chivers down my spine.

"What do you mean, control of the mind?" Caius demanded, obviously having read my thoughts.

"Let me try and explain it to you. Her gift is quite complex, you know. Basically, it consists of two parts..."

_Please God, please, I know I haven't been good, but just this once..._

"The first part is that she can enter a mind and see the entire past, present and future of a person-"

_Damn it!_

The one time I go hunting outside of the castle walls in a solid decade I kill my mate's best friend, and, to top that off, my mate has a gift that allows her to find out I killed her best friend.  
If anything like karma existed, I must have killed an entire continent for this.  
Which, considering my age, I probably had, taking into consideration the number of humans I had fed on. A few hundred a year, times that by three thousand... oh, nonsense. There was no such thing as karma.

Regardless, I still had no idea what to do now. Let her find out once she is turned? Follow Caius's advice and tell her? Even my vampire mind couldn't find a solution where there was at least a bit of hope that Amber would not despise me.

I believe the correct term was _I am screwed_.

"...she can even see parts from the past that a person has long forgotten, and she sees it literally out of the eyes of that person. She can't hear what that person thought in that moment, though. Generally, her gift works without mindreading."

Oh, well, at least she would be spared my thoughts of bloodlust when seeing this Phoebe die infront of her eyes.  
Not that that really changed anything.

Truly, I couldn't care less about her gift that moment. Yes, the leader of the Volturi, Aro, would have jumped at the news in joy. After all, she was the biggest find after Jane and Alec. But the mate of the most stunning woman in the world, Aro, had other, bigger, problems, that required his attention.

**AMBER POV**

I couldn't believe this Eleazar was talking about _me_! I mean, invading another person's mind and seeing that person's entire past, presence and future... wouldn't I have noticed if I could do something as cool as that? I mean, even Aro hadn't thought I had a talent, and now this...

"How can you see the presence, though?" Jane asked. Good question. Didn't everybody see the presence?

"If Amber knows a person, she can use her gift to see what any person is doing that moment, regardless the distance that person is away." Eleazar explained.

Whoa. How great was that?

"Amber can also see the future. However, the future changes when a person decides something different from the '_original plan_'. So all the time, really. It's far from infallible, but it's quite convenient."

"This is great news, Eleazar." Marcus commented. "But what is the second part of her gift?"

Eleazar grinned. "Well, as I have said, her gift is mind control and it works by invading a person's mind. The second part of her gift is therefore, _literally_, to control a person's mind."

There was a collective gasp and several sets of undead eyes stared at me in utter disbelieve. The only one that didn't seem interested in the least was...

_Aro_.

What?

He sat on his throne, staring off into the void. To say his expression was apathetic would be the understatement of the millenia.

What was going on here?! Even Marcus was paying attention! So why was my mate sitting there like he had lost all interest in the world?

"How does it work?" Caius demanded, obviously interested in my talent.

"The person who's mind she invades will not notice a thing. If she decides to take over, the victim will lose control over its body. She could make vampires kill themselves, or convince other coven members of joining the Volturi without the victim being able to do anything about it."

Caius's eyes lit up like a child at christmas. I blushed when I realized that _I_ was the reason for this.

"Thank you, Eleazar" Aro said, and his voice sounded a little irritated and... _desperate_? No, I must have heard wrong. Aro was the Volturi leader after all, he never sounded desperate, for God's sake. "You can go to your room now; I am sure that Corin, Renata and Chelsea have finished setting it up by now."

The two vampires with the strange, amber eyes nodded politely and took off instantly.

"Amber, _dear one_, go to our room. Jane, Heidi, keep her company." Aro ordered, and before I even had the opportunity to ask my fiancé what the heck was going on, I was out of the door.

**ARO POV**

The second the door closed behind Amber I took a long, unnessecary breath and sighed, turning to my brothers. "What am I going to do?" I demanded. To my shock, I noticed how desperate I was sounding. _Ah well, this was nothing compared to my other problem._

They both shot me pitiful looks and there was a long, awkward silence until Caius finally spoke up. "With all due respect Aro, Amber is going to rip your head off no matter what you do. I believe you have exactly two options: let Amber find this out on her own, or tell her. I suggest you tell her. Women don't like it when men keep things from them. If you don't tell her, she'll be even angrier at you."

Marcus nodded. "I agree with Caius. To quote Shakespeare, _Take Arms against a Sea of troubles, and by opposing end them._ You have to tell her, and with every moment you sit here with us, you are making it worse."

I sighed. "I can't tell her, not because she'll kill _me_, but because it will kill _her_."

"Aro" Marcus said. "She is your mate. When the time comes, she will forgive you. Tell her you meant no harm by it. She knows of your nature. She'll know that you did not do it on purpose and she will admit it to herself when the time comes."

"But in the meantime, she will _loathe_ me." I noted.

They nodded their agreement. "On the other hand, what choice have you got?" Caius commented. True. Very true, indeed.

"Fine." I agreed, turning to go.

"Oh, and Aro?" Marcus called me back.

"Yes?"

"If she tells her to leave, leave. Nothing will make it worse than not to listen to her."  
_Thank you very much for the motivation, Marcus!_, I thought sarcastically and left the room.

Here goes the one and only love of my life.

**AMBER POV**

"You've got one amazing talent, Amber." Heidi told me after we had sat down on Aro's bed. "Would you've guessed it?"

I shook my head. "To be honest, I wouldn't have thought I'd have a gift at all."

"Well, try it!" Jane said. "I could use parts of my gift as a human, so maybe you can, too!"

I nodded and concentrated on Jane's mind, closing my eyes. For a long while, nothing happened, but after six or seven minutes, I suddenly had a scene in my head.

"_We have to run away," Alec said. He had caramel eyes and looked like an entirely different person not dressed in black and not pale.  
I nodded. "The Villagers think that we're evil. We should escape while we can. Although-" I was interrupted by the loud screams and cries of an angry mob that was coming towards us, lead by a grey-haired man. 'Kill the witch twins!' they shouted. 'Burn them at the stake!'_

_"Father is leading them!" Alec told me, his voice trembling in fear._

_"Quick! Run!" I yelled at him and we jumped of our tree and ran for our lifes._

I opened my eyes.

"Your own _father_ lead the mob?" I asked her, unbelieving.

"He did." She said gravely. "What did you see?"

"Well, at the beginning you and Alec were sitting on a tree, talking about fleeing because the villagers thought you were witch twins. Then there was an angry mob that was coming towards you and you ran. That's what I saw."

Jane exchanged looks with Heidi. "It happens very seldomly that a gift works in a human. Your gift must be extremely powerful." Heidi informed me.

"Well, I-"

I was interrupted by the sound of heavy wooden doors opening, and in came non less than my fiancé himself.

"You may leave now" he said, turning to Heidi and Jane. They waved me good-byes and were gone in a matter of milliseconds.

"_Darling_, we need to talk" he informed me and cupped my face with his hands.

"What about?" I asked, trying my best not to sound nervous. Our engagement? The wedding? My transformation? My gift?

"Amber, I must be honest with you" he started and looked me in the eyes. His own were still the color of charcoal. "But before I tell you this, I want you to know that I love you and will always love you and _only_ you."

"Did you betray me?" I bursted out.

He smiled. "I would never betray you, Amber. You are simply perfect." I blushed. _Well, it can't be that bad, then. At least he didn't betray me._

**ARO POV**

I sighed, taking my second unnessecary breath today. I looked her in the eyes... oh, what I would do for these pretty emerald irises! Breaking their owner's heart was certainly not on the list.

_Oh stop it, Aro._ I told myself. _Get on with it. She has a right to know._

"I was out in the woods with Alec the other day" I started, noticing how she flinched at the word '_woods_'. Really, I wanted nothing more than to stop telling her the story at this point, when everything was fine and nobody was dead, but the words just kept coming like an avalanche. I couldn't help it. I had to tell her. "We were hunting, and-"

Amber stood up and walked towards the window in silence, effectively making me stop my confession to watch her. She opened the dark red curtains, letting in some sunlight. My mate was staring out into the landscape, cross-armed. Her accusation came out as nothing more than a whisper.

"You killed Phoebe."

Silence. Nothing but silence and guilt.

I did not dare answer. I had hurt her enough already.

"My fiancé killed my best friend." She realized. Suddenly, she turned around. Tears were streaming down her face.

"_Darling_, I did not do it willingly." I defended myself. "I did not know that she would be of such importance to my future mate, but if I had, I would have spared her. Yet I did not and gave in to my instincts. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Silence. Again.  
God, how I hated silence.  
_Say something!_

But she just stared at me.

**AMBER POV**

'_We are vampires, Amber.'_

_'I would never kill you, Amber, for you are my mate and I shall love you and give you everything you'll ever desire.'_

_'I love you and I will always love you.'_

_'You are my everything. Therefore, will you do me the honor of being my wife?'_

_'Amber, dear one, go to your room. Heidi, Jane, keep her company.'_

_'Darling, I need to tell you something.'_

_'I was out in the woods with Alec the other day...'_

_'I would have spared her...'_

No. It just could not be true.

Aro couldn't have killed Phoebe. It was sheerly impossible.

Or was it?

Because the truth was, he had.

Phoebe.

Pheebs.

Dead.

But why did he only tell me now?

_No_.

No!

It just could not be true!

I couldn't keep the tears from coming. "Yesterday, when I arrived here, you told me you would give me anything my heart would ever desire." I told him.

"Anything." He said. I stared at him. His expression was desperate, and so was his voice. Yet, he looked so perfect... _Stop it, Amber! You don't love the murderer of your best friend, stupid girl!_

"Then tell me," I began. "Why were you hiding this from me?"

"I was not hiding anything from you. Amber, you have been here for a solid day. When should I have told you?" He replied.

"Well, how about **before** I fell in love with you?" I screamed at him. "Or **before** you proposed to me? Or perhaps **before** we agreed on a date for my transformation?" I took a deep breath. "And how about **before** you found out about my gift and _had_ to tell me because I would have found out by myself once I was turned?" He was staring at the ground by now. "You were not planning on telling me about it, _ever,_ were you? You were hoping you'd _never_ need to tell me!"

**CAIUS POV**

'_You were not planning on telling me about it, ever, were you? You were hoping you'd never need to tell me!'_

It was times like these that I was glad I could just listen to this from the distance. Vampire hearing definetely had its pros.

"Sounds like Aro is definetely in for it." I noted, looking over to Marcus, who kept shaking his head in disbelieve.

"This is not good." He said. "The golden mating bond is still there, but it has cracks. And instead of the bonds of love towards Aro, there is only hate and disgust from Amber."

'_Well say something!' Amber yelled at him, but Aro did not answer. 'You know what? I've had it. Here, take your stupid ring. Take it!_' I could hear Amber throwing her engagement ring towards Aro.

_Nice_! I thought. _Finally some entertainment around here!_

'_Amber, please, don't do this to me!' Aro begged._

_'You killed my best friend and did not think it nessecary to tell me, Aro. I have every right in the world to give you back your stupid engagement ring!'_

_'But cara-'_

_'Don't you 'cara' me! Take your fricken ring and leave! NOW!'_

_'I love you' Aro said._ I heard the door close behind him.

**JANE POV**

"What do you think Aro wanted to discuss with her?" Heidi asked me as we had entered my room.

"No idea." I told her. "Maybe about her dead friend?"

"Why would he want to talk to her about that girl?" She demanded. Oh, how fortunate Heidi was. Fortunate, oblivious Heidi.

"Aro killed her." I said bluntly. "He went hunting with Alec the other day, remember? Well, her body was found bloodless in the forest the same day."

"First of all, that doesn't mean it was Aro. It could have been Alec, too." She commented. "Second of all, how come they didn't clean up after themselves?"

I shook my head. "No idea. And it definetely wasn't Alec. I talked to him about it and he told me that Aro sent him back to the castle before he killed her."

"How did he know it was her?"

I rolled my eyes. "How many fourteen year-old english tourists in Lady Gaga T-shirts run around in the _Foresta Berignone_ early in the morning?"

"Fair enough." She gave in. "But why would he tell her now? Why would he even bother telling her?"

I sighed. "Heidi, really? He just found out that she can see the entire past of a person. _Why would he tell her?"_

Our conversation was interrupted by a noise in the distant.

'_You know what? I've had it. Here, take your stupid ring. Take it!'_

"Was that Amber?" I asked her.

"Let's find out."

**AMBER POV**

I had just burried my head in the pillow when there was another knock on the door.

"Sod off, Aro!" I moaned.

"It's us!" I recognized Heidi's melodic voice. "Can we come in?"

"I guess." They were with me instantly. Heidi gave me an embrace, while Jane sat down next to me and took my hand.

"What happened?" Jane asked.

I burst into tears. "I...I- Aro told me that he k-killed Phoebe."

"Oh, Amber" Heidi said in a comforting tone. "That's a terrible thing, but you know... I mean, come on, vampires feed on humans. He didn't do it on purpose."

"Heidi!" Jane scolded her. "How about a little more _tactfulness_?"

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. It's not why I'm crying, anyway. Well, it's a little of it. But only a tiny bit."

Jane stared at me, dumbstruck. "Why are you crying, then?"

"Well, first of all because I loved my friend and I am constantly reminded of her death. And second because Aro wasn't actually planning on telling me this. He only told me because he found out about my gift and he knew I'd find out eventually."

"Did he tell you that?" Heidi demanded.

I shook my head, my vision blurry from all the tears. "Figured it out on my own. He didn't even try to deny it. And then..." the rest of the sentence was buried in a sea of sobs.

"I'm sorry." I apologized what seemed like eternities later, when I was able to speak in normal sentences again. "I'm sure you couldn't care less about this."

They shook their heads. "We're your friends, Amber." Jane told me. "We'll be there for you in good and in bad times. _Always_."

_"A harmful truth is better than a useful lie"_

_-Thomas Mann._

**Okay, lots and lots of drama and heartbreak, I know. Hope you like it, anyways! WARNING: The next chapters will include lots of drama. Please stay with me. (I promise, though, that it'll not that boring can-I-ever-love-him-again kind of drama, Completely different. But see for yourself in the next chapter!)  
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! ALWAYS MAKES MY DAY!**


	13. Chapter 13: Quick and Painless

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Once again, I do not own Twilight, I only own the characters Amber Brown and Phoebe Evans and the plot.  
I'd like to thank all of you for reading my story and being there for me! You rock!**

**_Btw, I have a website now!_**** You can find the link in my profile.**

**Thanks again to all my followers, favorites and reviewers! You make my day!**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 10 - Quick and Painless

_By xMiaCarax_

**ARO POV**

After I had killed Didyme to keep Marcus from leaving the Volturi, I had wanted to disappear into thin air. After Caius was almost killed by a werewolf, I had wanted to cry. After Sulpicia was ripped to pieces, I had wanted for the ground to open up and take me. But never, ever had I wanted to end my existence.

Well, I guess there was a first time for everything.

At the moment, except killing myself, there was only one thing I truly wanted: to be left alone. To be sat in my study and gaze out of the window into the wide toscan landscape, and to not have to talk to anyone. To be, once and for all, left alone.  
By anyone but Amber.  
And, of course, the occasional human.

But Amber would not come to visit me.  
Amber _loathed_ me.

It was a peculiar thing, really. After all, I _had_ killed her best friend. But when I had told her, what really got her was the fact that I would not have told her, if not for her gift.

Such unlogical thinking!

Was not the fact that I had told her the part that truly mattered? Was it not the worst mistake of them all to dwell on what _would_ or _could_ have happened?  
Was it not the logical response to be angry at me for a few days because I had killed her best friend until she realized that I did not do it willingly?

Was it not a complete waste of time to think about this now that it had happened? Should I not focus on the presence and future?

Wasn't I, like her, spending too much time on _woulds_ and _coulds_?

"Aro, let's at least talk about this" Marcus pulled me from my thoughts and back to the throne room, where I should theoretically be discussing the fate of that German newborn. "I see your bonds, Aro. You must be devastated."

_No, really, Marcus? Tell me more.._.

"What is there to talk about, brother? My fiancée threw her engagement ring at me and loathes me. You have noticed that I am devastated. We all know that I am devastated. Therefore, what is there to talk about?" I told him. He did not answer.

Well, good.

I should talk to Amber. Maybe if I apologized to her...? I would lose my dignity along with that apology, but I had already lost my heart to her, so why not also my dignity?  
Although I doubted she would listen to me. Not that I blamed her, really. If I was in her position, I would have probably reacted the same way...

"Well, if you really do not wish to talk about it just yet.." _No, really!_ "...there are some other matters that need attending to." Marcus suggested.

"We need a new secretary" Caius said matter-of-factly. "One that lasts a little longer than three weeks."

I was starting to get annoyed. "Since when is it our responsibility to find new secretaries? Finding secretary and prey, isn't that Heidi's job?"

Marcus nodded. "But as you have surely noticed, brother, Heidi is busy consoling your mate with Jane."

"Would you stop mentioning my mate the entire time only because I did not wish to talk about her with you?" I hissed.

"Brother, you seem a little on edge" Caius stated. "Perhaps you should go to your study...?" Oh, truly, there was almost nothing I wanted more. On the other hand...

"I am here now and I would appreciate it if we could just get on with business." I said. They nodded their agreement.

"Corin has already found a replacement, anyway." Marcus informed us. "She told me just a few minutes ago."

"Oh, really?" Caius asked. "Who is this mystery girl, then?"

"Her name is Violetta Prandi and she is twenty-two. Orphan, no living family members, long black hair. Just the type of girl we are looking for, really. Corin found her when she was in the city looking for a new cover for Eleazar's bed. Violetta was the shop assistant." Marcus explained. "She has already moved into the secretary quarters. She is starting her work as we speak."

"It's settled, then." Caius noted. I gave him a nod. "About that german newborn, then..."

**AMBER POV**

I still couldn't believe that Aro had not planned to tell me. Phoebe was my friend, and he was my (ex-)fiancé, for God's sake, it would have been my fricken right to know!

"Amber? Are you alright?" Jane demanded. "You look pale. Do you need some food? Violetta will cook you something..."

"Who is Violetta? I thought the secretary was called Gianna...?" I replied. Heidi and Jane exchanged looks.

"Well..." Heidi started. "I believe _was_ is the correct tense."

"Do you mean...?"

Jane nodded. "The secretaries work here as long as they do not make any mistakes. If they do..." she made the _off-with-the-head _gesture. "...and if they don't make any, occasionally, one is turned. But that happens very rarely. It is a game with the fire, really."

"And Gianna did something wrong?"

"Quite obviously." Jane stated. "So should I make Violetta cook something for you?"

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry."

"Well, you should at least get some fresh air." Heidi suggested. "I mean, you almost look as pale as _me_!"

"Fine." I surrendered. "Can we go to the gardens, then?"

"We're on our way."

**UNKNOWN POV**

Stefan and Vladimir had taught me more useful things in a few hours than my parents and the public educational system in seven long years: How to fight. The gifted guards. The location of Volturi Castle. And -most important of all- a way to make the leader suffer literally _forever_.

"But be assured that Aro _will_ kill you viciously when he finds you _if_ you follow through on your plan, little girl." Stefan had warned me upon my departure.

"I don't mind. As long as I get the revenge I want." I had replied. "And by the way, it's Cora."

I had run for hours and hours, feeding on unfortunate, yet oblivious humans on my way, until finally, a few hours past noon, I had finally reached Volterra.  
A beautiful city, really.  
Too bad I would be instantly dismembered if I were to come here again after I had followed through on my plan.

**HEIDI POV**

When we reached the gardens, Amber immediately let herself fall on one of the many meadows and stared at the sky. While her expression remained apathetic and she stared emotionlessly into the void, I could not help but envy her. After all, she could go out into the sun as often as she wanted, without risking exposure!

"Amber? Is everything alright?" Jane asked. _What a stupid question! Of course she wasn't alright!_ "Can we do anything for you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." She whispered.

"_Stop bothering her!_" I told Jane in a tone too quiet for Amber to hear. "_Can't you see she wants some time to think?"_

"_Why, no Heidi, I am blind. Haven't you noticed?_" she snapped. "_I merely wanted to be a good friend and ask if she needs anything, for God's sake!"_

"Is anything the matter, girls?" A male, melodic voice asked from behind me. Surprised, I turned around to see Jane's twin brother, Alec.

"What do you want?" I demanded, annoyed.  
"I merely want a word with my lovely sister." He informed us. "Jane?"

"I'll talk to you later, Alec. I have to guard Amber now." She said.

"Oh come on, sis. You used to be cool."

"I am not risking Amber's safety because of your impatience."

"Well, what exactly are you risking?" He asked. "Do you think Heidi will drink her dry? Do you think some mystery vampire will come along and kidnap her? Come on, Jane. This is ridiculous."

I could tell this was going to be a long argument.

**ARO POV**

"I say we kill her." Caius suggested.

"But would it not be wiser to let her spread the word?" Marcus interrupted. "Why would you kill her?"

"She has broken the law along with the rest of her family. The Volturi do not give second chances."

Marcus sighed. "What do you think, Aro?"

I couldn't care less about the fate of some newborn at the moment, but Marcus had a point.

"I say we let her live. After all, what danger could she pose?"

**CORA POV**

I knocked three times. Instantly, one unknown black-cloaked figure and the black-haired vampire that I had seen in Germany opened the door.

"What do you want?" The black-haired vampire that had helped to kill my family hissed.

_To rip you to pieces._

"I need to speak to your masters." I recited the line that Vladimir had told me to say. They nodded.

"Right this way." The other black-cloak said and closed the door behind me.

I had to admit that I was a little scared when I was led down a dark hallway. After all, it was like a maze. I had done good to fool the guards into showing me the way; the two Volturi guards moved around the castle at vampire pace, and I followed them. We walked around in this way for around half a minute until my senses were overwhelmed by the smell of blood.

_That must be the girl! Finally!_

I had to act quick, or I would lose her and the chance would be gone.

"Excuse me" I said and the two male vampires stopped.

"Yes?" the black-haired one asked.

"I would like you to tell your masters something." I replied. Their expressions were priceless.

"Weren't you going to...?" Before the murderer of my family could continue, I grabbed his arms and legs and ripped them off. He screamed in agony.

_Oh, how I wished I could spend more time with you, murderer._

"What the...?" the other one exclaimed, and before he could run, I separated his head from his body.

"Tell your masters that I'll see them in hell." I said with a cheeky grin, well aware they were not dead if I did not set the body parts on fire. And with that, I followed the smell of the girl.

**JANE POV**

"Well, go ahead. What did you want to talk about, then?" I asked Alec. He grinned.

"What happened with that girl and the Master? I heard her scream at him at the other end of the castle."

I rolled my eyes. "Alec, this is hardly the time to-"

_Wait a minute. What was that strange sound coming from the meadow?_

I looked up, and saw...

"FUCK!" I screamed, pointing to a red-haired newborn that was just centimeters away from Amber. Instantly, Heidi's and Alec's heads turned, too.

"Holy crap!" Alec exclaimed, and the next thing I knew we were running after the vampire with no scent. At all. _Weird_. I wondered if that was her ability?  
The unknown vampire had by now reached Amber and thrown her over her back like a doll. She let out a confused scream, not having realized the proximity of the newborn until now.

"Heidi, run back to the castle and inform the Masters!" I screamed and Heidi turned around and ran back the way she had come from.

_Aro is going to literally rip my head off for this_, I thought and continued running.

**AMBER POV**

_This was it, then._

One second I lay peacefully on a meadow and thought about my dead friend, the next I was thrown onto the back of some vampire with brilliant crimson irises and orange curls.

Had Heidi and Jane noticed my absence in time? Would they save me? Or would they loose us?

_Was it going to be painful?_

"Heidi! Jane! Help! HELP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "HELP!"

"Will you shut up already?" The vampire girl hissed. "I didn't plan to rip out your throat already, but if I hear one more sound from you..." She smiled a wicked, evil smile. "_Don't_." She emphasized and continued running through the gardens of Volturi Castle. _Seriously, how big was this place? We've been running for half a minute now, and at vampire speed, for God's sake._

The Gardens.

Aro. Me. The ring. Tears of joy. Jane. Conversation. Heidi. Eleazar. Gift. Aro. Confession. Me. Tears. The gardens. _This_.

I would never see my family again, nor would I get to talk to them one last time. I would never see Mom again, and her laughter lines. Dad and his black ties. Ruby.

_Ruby_!

She would grow up without me. Mom and Dad would tell her some story until one day, on her eighteenth birthday, they'd tell her the shocking truth and she'd either have a depression or go looking for me. I wasn't sure which one was worse. The possibility of Amber taking '_the tour_' if she was to go looking for me here was very likely, after all.

My little angel with the dark brown hair and the princess dresses. _The girl with the pink sparkly shoes._

Did she still detest me because I left one day after I had come?

Why did everything have to be so complicated? Couldn't I just have gone to Italy for a few weeks with my best friend and come back with a tan and lots of pictures of old buildings?

At least death wasn't complicated. Death was _easy_.

I hoped mine was going to be quick and painless.

**VIOLETTA POV**

_Dear Ms Fadanetti_, I typed. _Regarding your request of the fifth of July 2013, I am delighted to inform you that we would be pleased to give you and your second graders a tour of Volturi castle. The tour costs five euros per student. You have informed us that you would take a total of twenty-eight students with you. Feel free to take as many as you wish, our castle has capacities for two hundred people and more. Regarding the date, the thirteenth of July 2013 would be-_

"Violetta!" A high pitched, melodic vampire voice exclaimed. It was Heidi.

"Heidi! What can I do for you?" I asked politely.

"I need you to deliver a message to the Masters. Now be quick and write this down, I'm not going to say it twice." She ordered and her voice was almost too quick for me to understand. Quickly grabbing a pencil and a post-it, I took her message. "Tell them that Amber has been kidnapped by a newborn with orange hair and no scent after going to the gardens with me and Heidi. Alec and Jane are after her. I will be waiting for them in the gardens, near Sulpicia's grave."

"Heidi, that makes no sense whatsoever. How could a baby kidnap a teenager? And why don't you tell them yourselves?"

"_Because_..." she paused to think. "Because this is a secretary's job. Now go! Go! You are wasting precious time!" I followed her directions with a nod and ran to the throne room in my pumps.

**ARO POV**

"Why is it that Aro always shares Marcus's opinions?" Caius hissed, annoyed. "The girl is a criminal! I might as well go to my chambers and-"

Caius was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and the smell of too sweet blood.

_Violetta_.

She had long black curls, long legs and all in all, a good figure. As Marcus had said, the perfect secretary, really.  
Yet, she had disturbed. _Why did humans always have to disturb?! This was the second human in one day, for God's sake!_

"Violetta, I take it?" I demanded and stood up from my throne. She merely nodded in reply.

"Then tell us, Violetta, why you thought it necessary to interrupt?" Caius hissed.

"I... Heidi sent me here with an urgent message." She stammered.

"And what was that message?" Caius demanded.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "It was that Amber went to the gardens with her and Heidi and then she was kidnapped by a newborn with some weird hair color I can't remember and no scent..."

_**What?!**_

"...Alec and Jane are after her and Heidi is waiting for you in the gardens near... _Sul_... _Sulpi_... _Sulpica's_ grave." She finished and sighed. "Can I go now?"

"Her name was Sulpic**i**a." I said gravely, pronouncing the 'i'. "And no, you cannot go now. What hair color?"

"I... I don't remember..." she stammered.

I was instantly next to her. "Violetta, I believe you have two options: either you tell me what hair color that newborn had or I'm afraid very nasty things are going to happen."

"I... I don't know." She confessed, in tears.

_Pathetic_.

"Wrong answer." I said and bit down. Her blood was too sweet, but it satisfied my thirst. After a few seconds and her pathetic pleas for help, her lifeless body dropped to the floor.

"You know, Aro, killing secretaries on their first days doesn't really help." Caius smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "We are wasting precious time. Let us go to the gardens and meet up with Heidi." They nodded their agreement and a few milliseconds later, we hurried our way down the corridors.

**Okay, I'm sorry to leave you like this but it just makes things way more dramatic! As always, if you liked it please LEAVE A REVIEW, it always makes my day and makes me update way quicker!**

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**Have a nice rest of the winter holidays!**


	14. Chapter 14: Priorities

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Again, Ms Meyer owns Twilight, I only own the characters Amber Brown, Phoebe Evans and Cora and the plot.  
Sorry for taking such a long time to update ~ a lot has been going on at school, believe me.  
PLEASE leave a review, I have had none so far and your opinion really matters to me.**

**And now, without much further ado, enjoy!**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 14 - Priorities

_by xMiaCarax_

**AMBER POV**

I was trembling with fear, my eyes closed in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to forget the world around me and drift off into oblivion. I silently cursed the day I had accepted Phoebe's invitation to go to Italy with her and the entirety of the following events - her murder, Jane's 'private tour', my first kiss. Everything had changed for the worse from that moment on.  
I smiled. Funny, wasn't it, how sometimes it is the small things that have the power to change our entire lifes. Had I drifted off into sleep just a few seconds earlier, would I have not missed Phoebe's fatal call, and therefore my chance to be killed by a girl that was hardly a girl anymore and (eventhough at least a year younger than me concerning appearance) had the power to take my life in nothing less than a second?

What a disturbing thought.

My life was literally in this newborn's hands as we raced through Aro's gardens. At least I thought we were still in the gardens; it was hard to say with my eyes closed. I concentrated with the part of my mind that was not occupied by fear, panick and the wish of instant, painless death on a silent prayer - eventhough I knew it would not be answered. I had almost given my virginity, my hand in marriage and the possibility of a long, peaceful human life away to a vampire, a soulless monster, and all that in less than thirty-six hours. If anybody had sinned lately, it was me.

Yet, as they say, hope dies last.

Using up the entire rest of courage I had had left, I opened my eyes and immediately felt dizzy. All I saw was a green and blue blurr... I took it we were moving too quickly for me to see and that the green was grass and the blue the sky.

So we still were in the gardens?

Well, even if. Jane and Heidi were probably trying their best to catch me and the newborn, but I thought that in a situation like this, were I was just seconds away of being possibly murdered, I should be at peace with my decisions.

After all, regardless of the newborn, I was in a castle full of vampires.

**CAIUS POV**

Only seconds after Violetta's unfortunate death, we met up with Heidi in the gardens. She gave a small smirk when she saw Aro's crimson eyes, and it did not take a mindreading ability to know what she was thinking. _Secretary's job._

"Show us in what direction they ran." I ordered coldly. She merely nodded, turned to the right and ran. We followed her, running at the quickest speed possible. To my never ending surprise, the only scent that we smelled on the path was the one of the twins, Alec and Jane. I remembered that Violetta had informed us that the newborn had no scent, but still, shouldn't we at least be following Amber's smell, then?

"Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked Heidi. "After all, we-"

I was interrupted by the faraway sound of a terrified heartbeat, which, too, seemed to possess no scent.

Well, wasn't this odd. _This must be the newborn's ability, then._

"**AMBER**!" Aro exclaimed, and there was not only relief, but also panic in his voice. "Don't worry, _cara_, I'm coming to save you!"

We heard a quiet, faraway hiss from the same direction Amber's heartbeat was coming from and Aro let out a long, unmistakably vicious growl.

"Surrender, newborn!" I screamed. "This is your last chance to receive even the tiniest bit of mercy! You obtain no chance against us and you know it!"

**CORA POV**

_Dammit_!

How had they found me? Why were they only about twenty meters behind us? This is so not going according to plan!

"Never!" I yelled back at my followers, turning my head into their direction. I almost jumped from surprise when I did not only see them almost directly behind me, but also that they were not just two anymore; I now had six vicious vampires chasing me.  
Suddenly terrified, I turned back around and ran as quickly as my feet could carry me. I reached the end of the gardens shortly and made my way back into the castle, well aware that I had no orientation at all around here.

I should have just gone with Stefan's plan and killed as many guards as possible before they found me, I thought. Damn you Vladimir!

The hallway suddenly took a turn to the right, and an uncontrolled, pained scream was heard. I looked down to the human in my hands, only to see that she had hit her head on the corner. Juicy, but not too sweet blood was flowing out of a wound over her right eyebrow.

I heard somebody behind me hiss. "I will personally tear you to shreds if you even touch her!" an angry voice threatened, and I knew it was her mate, the Volturi leader.

_Just perfect_.

**ARO POV**

An angry hiss escaped my lips when I was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of my mate's blood.

"I will tear you to shreds if you even touch her!" I threatened the female newborn, hoping she would refrain from killing her. No answer came, and, as much as it pained me to admit, we were slowly losing her again.

This could not be happening. It was just a dream.  
_But how could it be a dream if I could not sleep?_

**FELIX POV**

"Afton! Where the fuck are you?" I screamed angrily into my phone. How dare a lower guard member not answer to me?! "Pick up your bloody phone this instance or I'll send Jane to have her fun with you!"

"_The party you have called is temporarily not available_" A high-pitched female voice answered. "_If you want to leave a message, please-_"

Before she could continue, I threw my iPhone 2 at the wall, making it explode into thousands of tiny pieces.

"You'll clean this shit up, I promise you you son of a bitch Afton!" I yelled and ran out of the door, hoping to find him. Who did that idiot think he was? I could kill him and nobody would even miss him! I-

An agonized scream pulled me from my thoughts. I froze as I recognized the voice.

_Amber_.

Aro's mate.

Why was she screaming? Did Aro and she fight or was she in serious trouble?

Suddenly, the smell of blood filled the corridors and another scream was heard, but not one of agony, but of anger.

"_I will tear you to shreds if you even touch her!_" Aro screamed.

Who the heck was he screaming after? I could not smell anybody in the direction he was screaming at.

Still, just from what I was hearing it sounded like Amber was in some kind of mysterious danger.

I decided to act quickly and stood myself in the middle of the corridor, the direction Aro had been screaming at. If somebody really was endangering his mate, I would catch him. Or her, in that matter.

BOOM!

**ARO POV**

We immediately came to a halt when we saw the culprit, a newborn of maybe thirteen years of age with bright, orange hair, Amber still in her hands, lying before Felix's feet.

"AMBER!" I exclaimed joyously, feeling as if a weight of a thousand kilograms had been lifted from my shoulders. She was alive. Nobody could harm her now.  
I quickly rushed towards her and took her from the newborn's arms. She stared me directly in the eyes as I picked her up bridal style, and from the look she gave me I knew she felt the same way.

"It's fine, Amber." I told her, my voice soothing. "Nobody will hurt you now."

"I thought I was going to never see you again" she said, tears in her eyes. "I love you."  
"What happened, Felix?" Caius demanded, interrupting our conversation.

"She ran into me, Master."

Caius nodded. "Jane, Alec, Felix, take her away." The three guards were about to hurry off with her when Marcus gave them a sign to stop. He took the newborn's face in his hands and spoke with a threatening slowness in his voice.

"Brace yourself for the slowest death you have ever thought possible." He warned her, a sadistic smirk on his normally apathetic face.

She did not seem to mind and smiled back at him. "I told some of your guards to take a message to you before I dismembered them, but now it appears more fitting to tell you this in person. See. You. In. Hell."

Marcus did not take his eyes off her while addressing the guards. "Take her away, but leave her alive, just barely. Jane?"

"Yes Master?" the petite vampire smiled back at him.

"You may have your fun with her."

"Yes Master," she merely told him and the three left for the dungeons with the criminal in their arms.

"Let us go to our room, cara. You need some rest and if you will allow me, I want to spend some more time with you." I said, turning back towards my mate.

**AMBER POV**

We lay on Aro's bed, buried deep in the arms of each other. I could simply not believe that this was real - this moment was just was too perfect to be. Like in a bad movie, I had been in danger of losing my life, but the person I loved had come to my rescue. And yes, I admit it, if my life would be written down in a story one day, nobody would believe this scene. It would be too cheesy.

But who cared about that!

Yes, it was cheesy, but it was perfect. We did not even need to talk. We understood each other without words as tears of happiness and relief rolled down my face.

Weird, wasn't it? _Wasn't I supposed to be angry at him because of Phoebe?_

"You are most certainly right, cara" Aro whispered into my ears. "But I believe that as horrible as the situation was, it did show that the mating bond is above all other feelings like anger or guilt. You love me and because of your life being in danger, you realized that it was more important." He paused to kiss my neck. "I love you."

_Right_, I remembered. _He hears what I think_.

_I love you, too, Aro_, I thought.

He gave me a heartwarming smile in return and I wanted to die, so perfect was this moment. How ironic, given only minutes had passed since I thought I actually would lose my life soon.

"Who was she?" I asked, desperate to know the truth. "Why did she do what she did?"

He stared me in the eyes, cupping my face while answering. "Her name is Cora. Her father was turned by a nomad vampire and he turned his entire family of thirteen. They killed conspiculously, and three of my guards took all but one back to Volterra with them. They were all executed for their crimes, but she had managed to hide from my guards back in her home town in Germany."

I nodded. "But...why?"

He sighed and gave me a gentle kiss before he continued. "We cannot say for sure, cara, as I have not had physical contact with her yet. However I assume that she wanted revenge for her family."

What kind of a stupid plan was that?! If the Volturi killed her family, why the heck would she want kill me?

"Amber, if a vampire wants revenge, it does not always directly involve the vampire that the other vampire wants to be hurt."

"That makes absolutely no sense, you know." I told him.

He shook his head. "You fail to see the big picture. There is only _one_ person a vampire cares for more than himself."

My jaw dropped and I let out an unnessecary breath as I realized what he meant, and the last puzzle piece of my mental 'Mystery Kidnapper Vampire' puzzle finally appeared.

"His mate."

He nodded sadly. "Exactly."

A single tear rolled down my face as I thought of what she would have done to me to hurt Aro. She would not have killed me, oh no, she would have tortured me until I begged for death.  
The thought sent chivers down my spine.

Aro saw my thoughts and pulled me even closer to his ice cold, perfect body in an attempt to calm me. "Hush, dear one" he told me. "You are out of danger now. I promise it to you."

I nodded. "I guess the whole situation just made me realize how much my life really is at the mercy of vampires, known or unknown to me."

Aro gave me a gentle kiss on my lips and my body seemed to be on fire. When he pulled back, he played with my long, brown hair.

"You know" he said. "If you feel uncomfortable as a human here, the date we set is not of importance. You only need to say a word and I will place the kiss of immortality upon you."

"Thank you for the offer, Aro. I'll think about it" I merely replied, not sure what to say. His offer had taken me by surprise.

He gave me his heartwarming smile and before I knew it, we were kissing again.

**VLADIMIR POV**

"What do you mean, she was caught?!" I screamed into my phone. All the time we had invested in training that little girl had been for nothing.

"_Calm down, Vladimir. I wasn't there personally, after all. All I know is that she tried to kidnap the girl and ran into Felix on the way. She's in the dungeons now with Jane and Alec, and Amber is with Aro._" The high-pitched, melodic female voice on the other end of the line answered. "_Look, I gotta go. Corin is coming._"

"Alright, alright. Report back to me if anything new comes up." I ordered and the line went dead.

"Dammit!" I yelled into the forest as I handed the phone to Stefan. "How dare she be caught?! Our plan was perfect!"

"Vladimir, yelling will not help. We should be happy that she at least dismembered Afton and Louïs on her way."

"Yes" I admitted. "Dismembered, but not killed. Would it have been so hard to set the fricken body parts on fire, for God's sake?!"

"Vladimir, will you calm down?!" Stefan said, his voice pissed off. "We've had countless attempts on hurting the Volturi in some way. You were never this angry when they failed. Why bother to care now?"

I growled. "Why brother, I thought you understood." I said, staring him straight into his black eyes. "She will not be human forever. But while she is, she is easily harmed. We have only days, hours left before she cannot be a target anymore. And our only attempt to harm her failed."

Stefan shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously, Vladimir. What the fuck is wrong with you?! We should be happy we're still alive. After all, they could kill us easily, with all the laws we have broken already. So why is it we're always spending our time finding new ways to tease them?"

I could not believe it. My own brother was on the side of the Volturi! My companion of four thousand years was supporting the vampires that had killed his mate! "_Take it back_." I hissed coldly.

"No." He said, crossing his arms. "You know what? Go on with your childish pranking alone. I'm sick of staying in Romania because they'll find us otherwise. I'll join some other clan. _Au revoir, mon ami_."

"NO!" I screamed as I held him down with all my power to stop him from leaving. "Are you mad? They killed Daciana! You cannot be serious!"

He sighed, shaking his head. "Don't you think it's a little sick to dedicate your eternal life to revenging a person that has died over three thousand years ago?"

"How can you speak in such a way? She was your mate!"

"Was, my friend, was. Daciana was killed quickly and painlessly, she probably did not even notice. She died because we teased the Volturi. How can we blame them? It is our own fault. We had it coming for us for a long time when they killed her."

"You got fucking Stockholm syndrom or what?! You cannot simply forgive the fucking Volturi!" I yelled, slapping him.

"And why is that?" He asked.

"Because I fricken say so!" I exclaimed. "I gave you immortality! And this is how you repay me? By forgiving the vampires that killed my and your mate? That forced us into never leaving Romania again?"

He simply shook his head. "It is my decision, not yours."

I let out a long, unnessecary breath. "I gave you eternal life because you shared my opinions. I kept you at my side because you helped me revenge our coven. But now, I will take my gift back. You are not worthy of it anymore."

I got hold of his neck and pulled, stronger and stronger.

"_Non! Non! Pitié! Pitié! Je ne suis qu'un pauvre-_"

"Quit the fricken French!" I said and his head flew onto the meadow. Not losing time, I set him on fire. I did not feel remorse when I saw my companion's body in flames. He had deserved it.

"_Arde în iad, trădător._" I screamed after him as I turned south.

To Italy.

"_Unde ai învățat limba franceză, oricum?_"

**Translations**:

_Au revoir, mon ami_ - Goodbye, my friend

_Arde în iad, trădător._ - Burn in hell, traitor.

_Unde ai învățat limba franceză, oricum?_ - Where did you learn French, anyway?

**Hope you liked it! If you did, please review. It would make my day!**

**So, who do you think the Romanian's informant is? And what is Vladimir going to do? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Btw, I'm still uncertain if I should have a third person POV or more Vladimir POV or a Volturi POV in the next chapter? If you have any suggestions, let me know.**

**And thank you to all of you for reading, even the ones that do not review, follow or favorite. You're just as great. Thank you! xD **


	15. Chapter 15: Betrayal

**DISCLAIMER: Ms Meyer owns Twilight, I only own the characters Amber Brown, Phoebe Evans and Cora and the plot.**

**Full Author's Note at the End of the Chapter. Please read it, there are some important infos.**

**Thank you for the new follows/favs: The Lady55, basketball4444**

**Thank you for the new reviews: dizprincess77, Guest, Wersa12345**

**Dedicated to: dizprincess77 & Guest**

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 15 - Betrayal

_by xMiaCarax_

**General POV**

Before the entrance to the dungeons of Volturi Castle stood two cloaked figures. Both of them were females; but this was not the only similarity concering physical appearance that they shared. Both were pale, too pale, shared the same inhuman beauty and had dull crimson irises. To the average human, they would have passed both as angels and devils, in a way. Humans had many names for them - demons, bloodsuckers, and, most famously, vampires.

The vampire on the left had long, curly hair the color of copper and full lips and looked to be about twenty-five. The vampire on the right on the other hand was short, had pitch black hair that barely reached her shoulders, and looked just like a perfect little sixteen year-old, if not for her eyes. They both stared blankly at the wall infront of them, not exchanging a single word, seemingly dying of boredom if they could.

Little did the older one of them know that her seemingly innocent counterpart was merely faking her boredom. Really, she was anxious and scared for her life, but she had been so for so many centuries already that she had become a master of hiding her true emotions.  
After all, nobody needed to know that she was a traitor.

She lived her eternal life in a very cautious way; never did she lose control over herself, never did she spend her time socializing with the others, and, most importantly, never did she let her Master touch her in an attempt to hide her secret life from his mind reading ability.  
She spent her entire freetime on making up excuses for this.

She was unlike all the others here in Volterra - they had no reason to serve the Volturi, but did so anyway because they liked the power that was bestowed upon them. She detested them for it. Why in God's name would anybody spend immortality as a servant? Why would anybody spend immortality following the rules of three old men that had lost their sanity over the millennia?

To the Volturi, she was a friendless, docile servant. She always followed her orders and always cleaned up after herself. She was so entirely nonexisting in the social life of the castle that some new additions took years to notice her presence.  
But to Vladimir and Stefan, she was a warrior. An informant. The girl that had killed her own family. The girl that desperately seeked power, and had been unsuccessful in finding it with Aro and the rest of them.

So she had joined the Romanians. She had done it in secret, on one of her trips to Europe. Nobody had found out to this day.

Sometimes, at night, when she heard the mated couples in their rooms, she asked herself why she had willingly given up her chance of freedom. If she would have found a mate if she had roamed the Earth as a nomad after quitting her post at the Volturi before even meeting _them_. She could have turned one or two - made herself a small coven. But no. She had to give in to the charm of the men that were the second most powerful vampires in existence.

Stefan and Vladimir.

They had been her demise.

And now here she was, stuck in the castle. If she left the Volturi, the Romanians would dismember her. If she stayed, Aro would do so one day.

She hated herself.

Her mind wandered back to the dungeons when she noticed her cellphone vibrating in her pocket. "I'll be back in a sec" she quickly told the other guard and sped off.

"Who is it?" she asked cautiously after she had closed the door of her room behind her. She had had no time to check the caller ID.

"Take a wild guess" a low, husky voice answered on the other end of the line.

"_Vladimir_" she realized.

"Such a clever girl. Now listen, I have a task for you."

A task? No, she had duties around here. She could not just drop everything and go on some mission for Vladimir now. Aro had already scolded her the other day because she had come a few minutes too late to the trial of some rouge vampire. She could not do it again in such a small time span or he would raise suspicions against her!

Only how should she tell him tell this without him getting angry?

"Vladimir, listen, I-" she tried, but she was interrupted.

"No, _you_ listen. If I tell you to listen you just shut the fuck up and listen, that's how it works. Understood?"

"Yes" she rolled her eyes and was thankful that he could not see her.

"Okay, now really listen up and don't interrupt me. I won't repeat myself."

_**Back in the dungeons...**_

"I'll be back in a sec" the black-haired one told her and ran off.

_What a strange person,_ she thought.

But anyways. Here she was, staring at the wall of the dungeons. She had dungeons duty today, along with that strange girl. She had never really catched her name. Or her gift. If she had one. All she knew was, well, she existed. And she was quiet.

Too quiet.

Dungeons duty was the worst of all duties, that was a well-known fact among the Volturi Guard. Usually, it was done by a lower Guard member, like the girl, but in special cases, an Elite had to accompany the Guard member. Today was such a case.

The newborn did not make a sound in her cell. Nor did the humans that were left over from the feeding. On one hand, that was good. No fight, no screams, no trouble. On the other hand, it was very lonely and quiet down there. Normally, the guards that were on duty passed the time by talking or taming the prisoners in the cells. But her companion had remained silent, no matter how hard Corin had tried to small-talk with her. And the prisoners were silent.

_Great_.

Suddenly, she was pulled from her thoughts as she heard the heavy platinum doors open.

"Corin, is that you?" she heard Santiago ask her.

"It is" the vampire who was called Corin replied, relieved to have some company, even if it was Santiago's. "I don't think I've ever been this happy to talk to anybody in my entire life."

He chuckled. "Are you flirting with me, Corin?"

"Hell no. It's just my companion guard was not much of a talker. At all. I've been standing here staring at the wall since this morning now." she clarified. Truly, the last thing she needed was this childish vampire as a boyfriend.

"Was?" Santiago demanded. "Where is... who was your companion, anyway?"

She sighed. "That short one with the black hair. You know her? She's extremely shy... I think."

Despite her efforts, Santiago just shook his head. "I don't think so. Wait... oh, the one who has the room next to Charmion's! **(A/N: Charmion is Chelsea's real name, but it is so out of fashion that she changes it from time to time. Look it up.) **What's her name again? Doesn't it start with an 'R'? Or an 'S'? Oh Gosh, no idea. Anyways, why did she leave?"

"No idea. Her phone vibrated and then she just left saying she'd be back in a sec."

He rolled his eyes. "And how many secs exactly was that ago?"

"1382, exactly." Corin replied.

Santiago glared at her. "You really were bored, weren't you?" He laughed, but Corin stayed silent. After all, the laugh was on her.  
He noticed her silence before long and politely got back to business. "I came because the Masters have requested a handful of humans as a snack for in between. I was told to also bring some for Jane, Alec and Heidi."

"What are they doing in the throne room?" Corin asked, suddenly interested where the conversation was going.

"I believe they have put them on trial for neglecting their guarding duties with Aro's human." He said.

_**Meanwhile in said Throne Room...**_

Jane was stood before the two remaining kings of the vampire world, expecting the worst. Next to her where her twin brother, Alec, who had grabbed her hand for protection the very instant they had been called to this room, and Heidi, who looked absolutely stunning even now she could lose everything in a matter of seconds, including her life.

As much as she hated to admit it, Jane envied her for it.

She tried her best to hide her anxiety and put on her usual pokerface. No one had to know what she was going through, she thought, she would suffer quietly, as usual.

Not that anybody would be fooled by it – but Jane Volturi never showed her emotions if not in private.

"Let us begin with the trial" Caius ordered coldly from his throne and his tone was merciless.

Silently, Jane cursed her brother. After 1200 years of always obeying the rules and her orders, she would very likely now die because Alec just had to disturb her. _Damn you Alec!_, she told herself. _Damn you and your fricken imcompetence to entertain yourself!_

In nothing more than an instant after Caius had stopped talking, Demetri, Felix and Charmion were next to the three, ensuring they would not try to run. Alec snickered at the thought. What was more ironic here – the fact that their best friends of many centuries would very likely rip them apart, or the fact that they thought that they, (ex?)members of the Elite Guard, whose sole job it was to ensure that criminals did not run from justice, would now, accused of a crime themselves, try to flee?

How stupid did they think they were?

"You, Jane Volturi and Heidi Volturi" Caius continued, standing up from his throne and walking toward them unnaturally slow to build up tension. "Are accused of neglecting your guarding duties, which led to the attempted kidnapping of the mate of a Volturi king by an unknown newborn. Do you admit that you have commited this crime?"

"Yes" Jane nodded immediately. After all, what good would it do to deny her actions? They would know the latest when Aro returned, anyway.

Heidi confessed short after. "I admit it, too. We did not do it on purpose, though!" she reasoned. "Well, I didn't, at least. And we did our guarding until Alec came and disturbed us! Then when they started talking I couldn't concentrate anymore!"

The twins growled and hissed at her, negatively astonished she had it in her to be so incredibly unloyal and blame them instead of her, especially in a situation like this.

Suddenly Caius was next to her and whispered into her ear, just loud enough for everybody to hear: "_My dear Heidi, betraying your friends to save yourself from punishment is just about the most unloyal thing there is. Even if it was entirely their fault, Volturi Guards are expected to be loyal at all times_." He backed away from her, as if he was disgusted. "You will not feed for three months for this. You may feed of animals if you find your thirst to disturb you from your guarding duties."

"Yes, master" Heidi said, bowed and stared at her feet. Caius gave her a big smirk and turned to the twins.

"Now to you two" he hissed, "Personally, I would take your arms for a few months. But we shall wait for Aro to make a final decision. Although I think I am safe to say that none of you will be executed."

A collective gasp of relief came from the three. If even Caius, who was the most ruthless of the brothers, did not want them dead, they were safe.

_**In Aro's Room...**_

"Oh" Amber exclaimed, pulling away from Aro's kiss.

"What is it, _cara_?" Aro asked, cupping her face with his hands.

"I need to call my family." She stated, her voice anxious.

He simply nodded. "I understand. Especially now that you thought you would never see them again."

Amber sighed, embracing her mate. "I'm happy and anxious at the same time thinking about talking to them. I mean... what if I can't remember the story? What if I lose it? What if..." she trailed off, and a single tear rolled down her face. Aro followed his instincts and pulled her closer to him, planting a kiss on her neck.

"Shhh, Amber. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll handle the situation just perfectly." He reassured her.

She gave him a sad smile. "I love you so much, Aro."

"Not as much as I love you" he said, a crooked smile forming on his lips. "Now we agreed on a story, did we not? You have found a lover here and want to stay."

She nodded. "But would they not want to meet him?" Amber pointed out. "They're coming here to pick me up, are they not?"

He thought about this for a few seconds. She was right. Her family was on its way here to take her home, and the story should convince them to go back. With the story they had currently on hand, they would rather achieve the opposite.

"Alright, then. How about you met somebody here in Italy and now you are traveling the world with him? They will not go looking for you in that case, and my phone cannot be tracked." Aro suggested. She stared at him blankly for a bit, then she nodded.

"Yes. Yes, that's perfect."

Aro gave her a gentle kiss. As he pulled away, he said. "It will be fine."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in" Aro said, and the heavy wooden door opened.

"Master, Mistress, forgive me for the interruptance" Afton told them. Have they already pieced him back together? Aro thought. We sure are efficient.

"Don't worry about it, erm... what is your name?" Amber asked.

"Afton, milady. Masters Caius and Marcus have sent me to get your mate. His presence is required for Jane's, Heidi's and Alec's trial in the throne room." The black-haired vampire continued.

"Why are they on trial?" she asked.

"For not guarding you properly, _cara_" Aro informed her.

"Don't harm them!" she pleaded. "They're my friends! It's not their fault."

He merely nodded. "If that is what you wish, Amber."

"It is." She sighed. "Would you mind terribly if I were to call my family when you are away? I love you, I really do, but I think I would be a little on edge with somebody behind me evaluating every word I say. Not that you won't see what I said when you come back, but... you know."

"Of course, _cara_. I trust you will not tell them anything that would raise their suspicions...?" he trailed off.

"Never." Amber said, dead serious.

"Go ahead, then." He replied. She gave him a smile in return.

"Thank you Aro."

"You are more than welcome." He told her, pulling her into a gentle kiss. "I love you." He looked at her one last time, unaware this would be the last time in a while. Then he was gone, and the door closed behind ger mate and the guard.

Amber sighed and picked up the phone Aro had left on the bed. "You will be fine" she repeated Aro's words as she typed in her family's phone number.

**(I was going to stop here, but nah. Consider this as a prologue for the next chapter.)**

**_In the room next to Charmion's..._**

"You cannot be serious" the girl said. "I'll never get out of this with my head attached to my body!"

She heard laughter from the other end of the line. "I believe you do not have a choice. You are in my coven, and you will do what I tell you. And if you don't... I will call Aro and tell him of his lovely little traitor."

"You wouldn't dare" she hissed.

"Oh really? Do you really want to risk it?"

She thought about it. Whatever she did now... it always ended with her being dismembered by Aro. She was a dead girl walking. Not that she had not been a dead girl before, being a vampire...

"No." She replied.

"Good girl. Now go and do as you were told. We will meet at the designated spot." With that, the line went dead. She was angry. Angry at herself for being a traitor. Angry at Vladimir for signing her up on a suicide mission. And most importantly, angry at the human. For complicating her life.

She closed the door of her room behind her and left for the dungeons.

**Author's Note:**** Okay, I hoped you liked this. If you did, please please please leave a review, even if it was just a filler chapter, I admit it. It helps me greatly!**

**On another issue, what did you think of the third person POV in this chapter? Since nobody answered my question on POV last chapter I tried to stay neutral. Should I keep the third person or go back to first?**

**What should happen to Jane, Alec and Heidi?**

**What is ****_the girl_****'s suicide mission?**

**Oh, and who do you think the traitor is? Tell me in a review...**

**_IMPORTANT_****: I didn't want to do this but I feel that most of my readers aren't taking me seriously. I've had over 1100 views so far, but only 3 reviews. Honestly, I think that's really bad. So bad I'm not sure if this story is even worth continuing.  
I will not update again before I have a total of at least 8 reviews. It's not that much to ask for, is it? It takes hours to write a chapter, but only seconds to write a review. I think all of you can spare the time. Alternatively, I will continue if anybody can finally answer my question from Chapter 1. In case you've forgotten, it was ****_In what book does the main characters also come from Kingsbridge, UK_****?  
Sorry if you think this is childish of me but I think it's only fair that if I sit down and write this story for you guys that I get some feedback. Deal with it.**

**Yours,  
xMiaCarax**


	16. Chapter 16: Gone, Sister, Gone

**DISCLAIMER:** Again, Ms Meyer owns Twilight, I only own the characters Amber Brown, Phoebe Evans, Cora and the plot. Oh, and I guess I own the Brown family and Violetta, too.

**Full Author's Note at the end of the Chapter. Please read!**

**Thank you for the new follows/favs:** Evan Akira-kun, .freak, ollolollo97, AkatsukiMercy1515, Dragonflygirlz, lalasagwania, Mari Wollsch, maihime971

**Thank you for reviewing**: Wersa12345, eternaldance22, dizprincess77, Guest, Victoria (Guest)

**THE STORY OF AMBER BROWN**  
Chapter 16 - Gone, Sister, Gone

_by xMiaCarax_

**Amber's POV**

I sat on Aro's bed, legs crossed, staring off into the distance as I held Aro's cellphone, an iPhone, to my right ear. Millions of thoughts shot through my head as I heard the connection noises. What if they ask too many questions? What if you cannot stand to lie to them? What if you tell them something they should not know...?

_No_. They simply could not know the truth. There were only two choices for humans that knew of vampires... and something told me that Aro would not grant them the life I would receive. After all, how many vampires here had brought parts of their human family into their second life?

Exactly.

In their case, knowledge would not mean power, but death.

I shuddered at the thought. If there was one thing that mattered to me in the world - it was the security of my family. And their oblivion ensured that.

"Hello, this is Ruby Brown speaking. Who is it?" I was ripped away from my worries and into the real world by my sister's high-pitched voice. I swallowed, anticipating what was to come.

_Damn it Amber you can do this! For you and Aro!_

Yes. For us. For our eternity.

A devilishly huge smile formed on my face just at the thought.

"Hello? Heeelloooo? Is anybody there?"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. There was no going back now.

"Yes. This is Amber talking." I replied rather sheepishly, not really sure what to say. _Yes Ruby, this is your soon-to-be-a-soulless-monster sister calling. I just wanted you to think that I was not going to kill innocent people in a few days, including you if you come too close. So please refrain from coming to Volterra. Oh, and you'll have to die because I told you that. If you could go ahead and your fake your own deaths...? Thank you very much._

Silence.

"Oh, Am! I'm so sorry I was mean to you when you were leaving! I miss you so much!" She exclaimed and I could hear the excitement in her voice. "I'm so happy I'll see you in a few hours!"  
I took another deep breath._ This was it, then. The time for feeding my own little sister lies._

**Ruby's POV**

I heard my sister take a deep breath. _What was that for?_ I wondered.

"Ruby, I..." she began, but she suddenly fell silent when there was a knocking sound in the background.

"Just a minute!" Amber yelled, her head turning away from the phone. I could barely hear her. "Now Ruby, I was going to say that-"

But she did not come any further. There was a loud, sudden sound, comparable to that of a door being kicked open.

Everything went very quickly from then.

"Fuck" she whispered, and I grinned, imagining how Mom would scould her if she heard this. "Ruby, I love you" she said, a tone of the utmost desperation in her voice. The grin faded immediately. Then the phone flew through the air, and, from the sound, crashed into a wall. Hard. I backed away for a second. The sound hurt my ears.

It was then, and eventhough the phone was no longer next to my ear, that the horrified scream of my beloved sister sent me into a state of panick and fear. It was like my most shocking nightmare had come true; only much, much worse. My sister was screaming in terror and I could not help her. In a dream, I could at least wake up. But this - this was reality.

"No! NO! AMBER!" I screamed into the phone, tears streaming down my face. "Amber!"

A few seconds after the screams had started, they died down.

_Was she...?_

No. It simply could not be.

I heard the faint sound of a door opening, then closing in the background. I let out a sob. They're gone. She's gone.

But I was mistaken.

A deep, husky-like voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Your sister" it said, with a sadistic tone to it, seemingly enjoying every word and the damage it was doing. "is as good as dead. Forget her. This conversation never happened."

Then the line went dead and I was left on the floor, sobbing.

Amber.

As Good as Dead.

And I had heard everything.

Just the thought of my sister's body, cold and lifeless...

_Forget her._

I shook my head in disbelief.

How was I ever going to forget this?

_**Ten Minutes Later...**_

Mommy and Daddy were sitting on the once white carpeting of their room, clothes distributed into uneven piles as I burst through the door. I was still crying... I did not seem to find the power to stop. Daddy did not seem to notice my presence at first, but Mommy immediately was next to me, embracing me.

"Shh, cupcake, everything is alright" she tried to console me, but I only cried harder.

"A-Amber... c-call... f-forget..." I managed to choke out between the sobs, and I caught Daddy's attention.

"Amber? What are you talking about, Ruby?" He asked me, a frown on his face.

"I.. I... she c-called..." I began.

"Why did you not give the phone to us, cupcake?" Mommy said. "You know I've wanted to talk to her."

"Sh-she... she wanted to t-tell me something..." I replied. "B-but then... the door..."

Mommy gave me a kiss on my cheek. "Sweetheart, how about you dry your tears and then tell us what happened." I nodded, and Mommy and Daddy waited patiently until I was finished crying. "Go ahead, dear."

I took a deep breath. "She called and I told her how I missed her and how I was glad I could see her in a few hours. And then she wanted to tell me something, but she didn't come further than 'Ruby I wanted to tell you that' before the door opened and she said '_fuck_' and then-"

"Young lady!" Daddy interrupted me. "Language!"

"You said you wanted to hear what happened! I'm only telling you!" I defended myself. "Anyways, Amber said _I Love You, Ruby_ but she sounded so desperate, I can't explain, I..." I sobbed. "...then the phone flew through the air and crashed into a wall and I heard Amber screaming..."

Mommy and Daddy exchanged meaningful glances. "Cupcake, are you sure this _really_ happened?" Mommy asked me.

"You think I'm making this up!" I realized. "I swear, this is exactly what happened a few minutes ago!"

"Of course it is, cupcake" Mommy said, but from her voice I knew she didn't buy it. "Continue."

_Great_, I thought. _They think I made this up and the next part of the story isn't really helping, either._

"...I started yelling her name but nobody answered the phone. Then suddenly the screams stopped and I heard a door opening and then closing and then there was a man that took the phone and said..." I stopped. If I told them this, they would never believe me.

"...Yes?" Mommy said. "What did the man say?"

I gulped. Should I tell them? Would they believe me?

"He said...he said that Amber was as good as dead and that I sh-should f-f-forget h-her." I told them, and the tears were streaming down my face again. "And that the conversation n-never happened."

Silence.

Suddenly, Daddy burst out laughing. "That is a good story, cupcake! You should become a story teller!"

"I did not make it up! It's true!" I yelled at him. "I did not invent this!"

"Of course not, sweetheart. But tell me, where did you get that '_this conversation never happened_' from? Where you up again secretly watching TV at night again?" Mommy said.

"I did not make it up!" I screamed as loud as I could. "Why don't you believe me?!"

Mommy sighed. "Alright. Bring me your phone."

"Why?"

"Well, if this adventure story really did take place, the phone would have saved the caller ID."

I nodded. "Okay. Then you can see I didn't make it up!"

I quickly ran to my room and picked up the phone. Hurrying back across the hall, I turned the Nokia on and the display lit up. As I reached my parents' room, I handed it to Mommy.

"Now you'll see I said the truth."

Mommy took the phone and pressed a few buttons. I stood a few meters infront of her, waiting for some sign that she had found a sign of my innocence.

It never came.

"Sorry, cupcake. No unknown number under '_calls'. _Only the calls between you and your friends are listed here."

I fell to the floor. How could this be? Had I really just imagined the incident?

_No_. That could not be! Everything had been so real!

_No!_ I could still hear the voice in my head, after all. I never ever would have been able to make that up!

"_You don't lie, Ruby_" I heard Daddy's voice faintly behind me as I was lost in thought, after my world had fallen down on me, burrying me under the debris. "_And if you do, you confess you did. It only gets worse otherwise._"

_**Three Hours Later...**_

We were on the plane from Exeter to Pisa. After Daddy's little lecture on being honest which had followed my '_story_', none of us had talked a single word. This was the result of Daddy saying neither he or Mommy would talk to me again before I confessed I had lied. I was not going to confess a crime I had not comitted, and I guessed Mommy and Daddy were still waiting for my apology.

Well, they'd have to wait a _long, long_ time, then.

We had just reached 4000 meters and people started to leave their seats to go to the toilets or visit other passengers. I took it I was allowed to listen to music now and pulled out my iPod from my bag. I pressed shuffle, my mind too busy with thoughts about what was going to happen when we reached Volterra.

Mommy and Daddy stared at me the entire time.

I didn't mind. I had done no injustice. I understood their motives for being angry at me, but they did not listen to me when I tried to explain the truth to them. But then again, was it my problem if they were to spend the flight in silence and shooting me angry glares?

Not exactly.

The iPod finally decided on a song and I leaned back onto the seat, staring out of the window and therefore showing my parents the back of my head.

_Good_.

_Tell me a piece of your history that you're proud to call your own,_

_speak in words you picked up as you walked through life alone._

_We used to swim in your stories and be pulled down by their tide,_

_choking on the words and drowning with no air inside._

_Now you've hit a wall and it's not your fault my dear, my dear, my dear._

_Now you've hit a wall and you've hit it hard, my dear, my dear, oh dear._

_It is not enough to be dumbstruck; you must have the words in that head of yours_

_And oh, oh, can you feel the silence? I can't take it anymore,_

_'cause it is not enough to be dumbstruck. Can you fill the silence?_

This is why I loved music; no matter what life had in mind for you, there was always a song to fit the situation.

_**THE END**_

**Author's Note**: Yes, dear readers, your eyes are _not_ deceiving you: this is the end. And not the end of the Chapter, but of the story.

Or should I say _pre-story_? ;)

As some of you might know, I have been planning on a sequel to this story for a long time now. In the last few days, I have planned meticulously what will happen in it, and I have come to the conclusion that if I continue _this_ story, some events, like what happened to Amber or to Ruby and her parents when she arrived in Volterra, will be major plot events in both stories. And that would be boring and repetitive, would it not? So I decided to make the sequel my main story and this its pre-story, as it includes some valuable background information.

I will post the first chapter of '_The Story of Ruby Brown_' in 48 hours time.

_Don't be mad_. The story will be continued, but in another story. So if you want to know what happens to Amber, Aro and Co., put me on your author alert list if you have not already, so that you will not miss '_The Story of Ruby Brown_'.

**Please Review! Suggestions and/or Criticism welcome!**

_**Other Announcements:**_

1. Gigantic thanks to all my reviewers, Wersa12345, eternaldance22 and dizprincess77 in particular!

2. The song Ruby listens to is '_The Silence_' by Bastille.

**Thank you for reading!**

Yours,

xMiaCarax.


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